Traveler
by The Straight Elf
Summary: Ash Ketchum has been determined to become the best since he was a toddler. He has his eyes set on a charmander, but a twist of fate led him to the humble Nidoran. Note: Mix between anime and the games.
1. Chapter 1: The Rookie

A/N: After my last story, I decided to do one that was less dark. This world is a mix of the anime and the games, and I will be leaving a lot of episodes out. It's going to be slightly darker than the anime – not that that's saying very much – but it's not going to be some godforsaken world like the Sun Soul. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the story. Make sure to review.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

Today, he reflected, was the most important day of his life. He had been eagerly waiting for this ever since he had been old enough to understand when he would get a pokemon of his very own. Ash had been weighing the pros and cons of the Kanto starters for months now, and he had decided that he wanted a charmander. Ever since he had seen a trainer win a tournament with a charizard on the television he had wanted one. The fire pokemon was strong even when it was young, and only got stronger as it aged and evolved.

He had made sure to bed early last night so he wouldn't be late to Professor Oak's lab. His alarm clock had been set an hour earlier than it needed to and he had made sure his mom knew to wake him up at the time his alarm was supposed to go off. There was no way that he would be late.

It turned out that his plan worked great. Ash was ready to go to the lab whenever his mom was done worrying over him. She was fussing over him and making him promise to stay safe, although she wished him luck just as much. He just let her worry since she might not see him for a long time. Instead of listening, he just envisioned himself becoming Champion with his future charizard at his side.

"Oh!" His mother suddenly exclaimed, looking past his shoulder at the clock. "You need to get going if you want to get to the lab in time! Make sure you come back here and say goodbye before you leave! I'll have your backpack ready."

Ash smiled at her and nodded, the excitement killing any words he might have said. He walked off in the direction of Oak's lab, and he smiled and waved to some of the people that wished him good luck on his journey. Pallet was such a small town that everybody knew that he and a few other kids would be starting today.

In no time at all he was at the large white building. Its windows looked shiny in the sunlight, and he saw that three other kids were standing in front of the doors. Ash walked up nervously, but before he could greet them a familiar, irritating voice broke out from them.

"Oh look!" Gary said arrogantly. "It's the loser. I'm surprised you even showed up – we all know that I'm going to beat you."

Ash gritted his teeth but said nothing. The other two kids – a rather short boy named Jonathan and a pretty girl named Amelia – looked uncomfortable with Gary's teasing but were too meek to protest against him.. They just looked down and kept their eyes away from Gary.

Finally, Ash snapped. "Shut up Gary! I'll beat you when we get our pokemon!"

"Yeah right." Gary smirked. "A loser like you doesn't have any chance against me! But let's do it. I'll show you what it means to be a real trainer."

Ash tightly nodded, glaring at Gary. He reigned in his temper, not wanting to start a fight the day he got his first pokemon. He would just have to beat him in their battle.

The next few minutes passed in silence. Gary dismissed them all, smiling cockily while he leaned against the lab's wall. Ash stood quietly for a moment before walking over to Jonathan and Amelia. They quietly began to chatter about what pokemon they wanted and how they would start off.

Jonathan and Amelia would be travelling together, and they invited Ash to go with them. Ash quickly accepted. He didn't want to be on his own yet and going with Gary wasn't likely to happen – not that either of them would want to travel together to begin with.

Finally, the glass doors neatly slid open. The soon-to-be trainers rushed in eagerly, wanting to be the first to get their pokemon. Gary pushed past the rest of them and Ash was forced to the back. As they entered the cold lab, a short woman in a pristine white lab coat greeted them.

"Hello!" She said warmly. "You must be the new trainers I was told about. Follow me and I'll take you to Professor Oak."

Gary chatted with her as she led them to the professor, but Ash was too nervous to listen. He and the other two kids shared anxious glances as they moved into a small room to the right of the main lab.

Inside was a small table that had three pokeballs on it. Professor Oak stood next to it and smiled reassuringly at them, and greeted them all by name. The familiarity loosened the tension they were feeling, although Gary didn't need it. He had an overabundance of confidence as it was.

Now that he didn't feel like he had a lump in his throat, Ash noticed a small problem.

"Professor Oak?" He asked quietly. Oak looked at him curiously, and despite knowing the man for years Ash found himself regretting speaking up. "There are only three pokeballs."

Oak looked confused for a moment before he realized the problem.

"Oh! I must have made a mistake." Oak said, cheeks turning red from embarrassment. Ash and the other two trainers looked at each other anxiously, not sure if they would get their starters today.

"Don't worry." Oak said as he saw the look they shared. "You'll all get a pokemon. One of you will just have to wait a few minutes for me to procure one."

They shared a sigh of relief. Oak smiled and continued.

"Now, who is willing to wait on their pokemon? I don't want the others to have to wait."

Everyone shared a moment of silence. Gary wasn't paying attention since he was sure to get one of the three pokemon no matter what. The other three trainers just looked at each other, silently hoping that one of the others would volunteer.

After a few moments passed and it became evident that no one was going to say anything, Ash spoke up. He felt a lump of disappointment in his throat as he realized he would have to wait but decided it didn't matter. As long as he got a starter it was fine.

"I'll wait." He said sadly. Oak looked impressed with him and smiled.

"Good. Just let the others get their pokemon and I'll see if I have any others ready." Oak turned away from him and addressed the others. "The pokeball to the left is bulbasaur, a grass type. The pokeball in the middle is charmander, a fire type. The pokeball to the right is squirtle, a water type. Each of them have their strengths and weaknesses, but a skilled trainer can use any of them very well."

Ash watched enviously as Gary pushed in front of the others and grabbed the squirtle's pokeball. Gary released the small blue turtle and sized it up. Apparently he found it to his liking because he smiled at it.

Jonathan chose the charmander and let it out of its ball as well. He looked at the orange lizard in awe, and laughed when the charmander curled up in a ball and tried to sleep. The other boy tried to pet it and the charmander lazily looked up at him.

Amelia picked the bulbasaur. The grass type looked pretty calm and began to investigate its surroundings. After Amelia started talking and petting it the Professor cleared his throat.

"Now that you have your pokemon, could you please return them? I have an important announcement."

Gary grumbled as he returned his squirtle and cockily stared at his grandfather. Amelia and Jonathan didn't say anything and just looked at the old professor. Ash followed their example.

"Now that I have your attention, I'm going to give you each a project to work on during your travels. You see, recently I invented a machine called the pokedex. It collects a detailed amount of information on pokemon, but I need someone else to search the world for me. I'm too old to gather them myself, so I'm entrusting each of you a pokedex to collect the information for me."

With that said he opened up a small bag on a table in the corner and withdrew four small red computers. He handed one to each of them, and Ash looked at curiously before wondering why he had four pokedexes ready but only three pokemon.

"Err, Professor Oak?" He asked. The old man looked at him after he had given Gary a pokedex. "Why did you have four pokedexes but only three pokemon?"

"I have lots of Pokedexes in that bag." Oak explained. He turned back to the new trainers. "Once you activate the pokedex and put your information in it will serve as your identity. Now, the pokedex gives you information on any pokemon you come across. For example, it will give you what type it is, what it likes to eat, what species it is, and will tell you what moves it knows."

Ash's eyes widened as he heard just how much the pokedex could do. Professor Oak continued to list its features, which revealed that it had information like the pokemon's habitat, gender, and a detailed description on the species. When he scanned something with it the pokedex it would give a basic summary of the pokemon, but to learn more about it he had to actually open it up and read.

"Now that you know what it can do, I suggest you all go outside and get ready for your journey. Make sure to activate the pokedex at your earliest opportunity. Ash, please stay in here."

Ash grudgingly nodded and waved Jonathan and Amelia goodbye. Oak said something to his grandson before Gary ran out of the lab. The professor left the area to get Ash's new pokemon. He hoped that Oak could find him a charmander.

"We'll wait for you, don't worry!" Jonathan said with a smile. "Just come meet us at the gate when you're ready. Amelia still has to get her bag anyways."

He grinned and thanked them. When they left he searched around the small room for a chair. After he found one he sat down and impatiently waited for Professor Oak, although he made sure to activate the pokedex while he was waiting. It was a simple process that began once he turned it on and all he had to do was put his name and other information into it.

Activating the pokedex only took a few minutes off of his wait. He tried to count down the time and keep himself from fidgeting too much, and by the time he'd counted to twenty minutes Ash thought he would go crazy.

Professor Oak finally came back holding a plain pokeball. Ash jumped out of his seat in excitement and anxiously waited for Oak to give him his new partner. When Oak held his hand out Ash practically snatched the small orb out of his hand and stared at it in awe.

He pressed the release button and eagerly watched as red energy shot out of the ball and coalesced into a small, pink creature. Ash was momentarily disappointed at not getting a charmander, but that was soon forgotten.

He'd finally gotten a pokemon! Ash crouched down next to the pink creature – a male nidoran, he remembered – and carefully examined him. The nidoran looked at him curiously and twitched its ears. The new trainer grinned, but didn't pet him. He remembered that they were supposed to have poisonous barbs on them.

Ash stood up and aimed the pokedex at Nidoran. The small creature looked up at him and its right ear twitched again. The pokedex scanned it and gave Ash the summary on Nidoran.

_Nidoran, the Poison Pin Pokemon. It stiffens its ears to sense danger. The larger its horns, the more powerful its secreted venom._

_This nidoran knows the moves: Peck, focus energy, confusion, and leer. Its ability is poison point, which poisons pokemon that use physical moves against it._

"How big are its horns compared to other nidoran?" He asked the professor. Oak looked closely at it for a moment before answering.

"Quite large." He admitted. "This is an impressive specimen of its breed. It will do quite well no matter what you use it for. I must admit that it has quite the advantage in knowing confusion. One of its parents must have been a psychic type."

Ash grinned at that and looked at Nidoran. "Do you want to be friends?"

The Nidoran just looked at him and twitched its ears before nervously looking around. Ash remembered that they were supposed to be one of the more nervous breeds of pokemon and kneeled down. Maybe if he looked smaller it would be more comfortable.

He held his hand out and the pink creature cautiously stepped forward. Nidoran sniffed his hand and didn't try to attack him and calmed down a bit. After Nidoran seemed to be calmed down Ash returned him to his pokeball and thanked Oak.

Ash could barely hold in his excitement at finally having a pokemon. Who needed a charmander? He had Nidoran, which evolved into pretty powerful pokemon.

As he walked out of the lab he noticed that Gary was waiting outside with a cocky smile on his face. Ash gritted his teeth as he saw Gary and withdrew his pokeball.

"What took you so long, Ashy-boy?" Gary asked as he released his squirtle. The turtle tried to mimic its owners pose, but fell over doing it. Ash had to hold back a laugh as the turtle got back up, but the squirtle still noticed.

"C'mon." Gary said, annoyed at Ash's laughter. "I bet squirtle can beat your pokemon easy."

Ash grinned and released Nidoran. The small pokemon scratched its large ear when it came out and looked at Ash.

"Hey, Nidoran. Can you beat that squirtle for me?" Ash said. Nidoran looked over at Gary's squirtle and growled, extending its large poisonous barbs. Squirtle shrunk back a little, clearly intimidated by the dripping beads of poison.

"Ha!" Gary said, clearly not as impressed as squirtle. "That's the pokemon Gramps gave you? It's not even a real starter. Go get him, squirtle. Use tackle!"

His face colored in anger, but he wouldn't let Gary talk like that to Nidoran. Nidoran growled loudly and his barbs began to drip more poison. The small creature squared itself as squirtle charged at him.

Ash thought fast, going over Nidoran's capabilities. He knew that Nidoran wouldn't be very durable, so he couldn't just let squirtle tackle Nidoran. The squirtle nearly tripped several times as it ran towards Nidoran, but Ash didn't laugh at it. He needed to focus.

"Dodge and peck!" He cried. Nidoran jumped out of the way at the last second and let the turtle run into the lab's wall. His pokemon lunged at the dazed turtle and rammed its vulnerable underbelly with his horn.

Squirtle cried out in pain, but at the insistence of its trainer it pulled itself up and continued fighting. The turtle tried another tackle, this time hitting Nidoran in the back before he or Ash could react. Even as Nidoran was knocked back a foot, squirtle began to fall over. Nidoran's barbs had injected the tired squirtle full of venom when it tackled Nidoran, and the turtle was unable to fight.

Ash cheered Nidoran on for a moment before taking a risk. He didn't pull his pokemon back into his ball, instead motioning for Nidoran to follow him. The pink creature cheerfully followed Ash as the new trainer went home.

Gary didn't give them any trouble. He was too shocked that he had lost to bother them. They left Gary with his unconscious squirtle and walked back to Ash's home in euphoria over their win. Ash grinned and jumped almost the entire way home.

His mom was watching TV when they entered the small house. When Ash and Nidoran walked in, she jumped up and squealed in excitement when she saw the small pokemon.

"Oh, Ash! It's so cute!" She cried before scooping Nidoran up. Ash tried to call out a warning before she pricked herself on one of the poisonous barbs. His mom just looked at him admonishingly. She was carrying Nidoran strangely, but Ash realized that it was a position that would keep Nidoran from accidently pricking her.

"Don't you remember?" She asked as she carried the happy Nidoran around with her to get Ash's backpack. "I studied under Professor Oak for a few years. He taught me a lot about pokemon."

Ash blushed in embarrassment as he remembered that. His mom set Nidoran down before going to get his backpack. Nidoran walked next to his feet and sat down. He seemed to be listening for something, although Ash thought the little creature was just paranoid.

After a few minutes his mom brought out his blue backpack and handed it to him. Ash unzipped and looked inside to make sure it had everything he would need.

Food for him and his pokemon? Check.

A map? Check.

Rope and potions? Check.

A few more things were in the bottom and side pockets, but he didn't look at those yet. He had all the necessities and anything else he could buy at Viridian City. Now all that was left was to say goodbye to his mom.

Ash turned to her, but before he could say anything she had wrapped him in a crushing hug. He sputtered and thought his ribs were going to crack, and when his mom finally let go he gasped for air.

"Stay safe." She said. Ash thought that he could see tears in her eyes, but she pushed him out of the door before he could check.

The new trainer waved her goodbye and when he was finally out of sight of the house he ran to the gate that separated Pallet Town from Route 1. Ash saw the others waiting on him and both of them looked at Nidoran in curiosity.

"Is that a Nidoran!" Amelia asked excitedly. "That's so cool. I didn't even know the Professor had one."

Nidoran looked uncomfortable under the attention and sat down on the soft dirt. He scratched his ear as an attempt to ignore the attention Amelia was giving him.

"So what moves does he know?" Jonathan asked. "Charmander knows growl, scratch, and ember. I'm going to try and teach him smokescreen later."

Ash told his new traveling partners Nidoran's move set, and both were surprised when they heard that the poison type knew confusion.

"Wow, you're really lucky." Jonathan said. "But I think we need to get going. My mom got to Viridian City in three days and I want to beat her record."

Ash and Amelia grinned and nodded their assent. They wanted to get their journey underway just as much as Jonathan did. With that they set off down the worn dirt road of Route 1, eager to venture out into the world.

Xx

Ash had to return Nidoran after a while. Although his starter was valiantly attempting to keep up with them, its stubby legs and slow speed caused it to be pretty tired after half an hour. He didn't want Nidoran to tire himself out before they could find something to battle.

"So," he began in attempt to revive the conversation, "did you guys see the battle between Bruno and that Marcus guy last night?"

"That was awesome!" Jonathan said loudly. Ash noticed that a few pidgey roosting in the tree above them fled due to Jonathan's loud voice. "Bruno actually lost! I think Marcus or whatever his name is lost to Agatha though."

"What happened?" Amelia asked curiously as they walked down the trail. "My parents made me go to bed before the battle came on. I only got to see the end of Lorelei's match."

"Oh it was great!" Jonathan said boisterously. "Marcus' Gengar beat all of Bruno's pokemon except for onix. I think Bruno got pretty mad over his loss."

Ash and Amelia listened intently, but eventually they got bored of Jonathan practically swooning over the Elite Four. Amelia diverted the conversation to something that neither Ash nor Jonathan had known about.

"So have either of you heard about the spearow flock that's been causing trouble around here?" She asked. Jonathan looked pretty nervous – everyone in their class at Pallet Town had known that he was terrified of bird pokemon – but Ash wanted to know more.

"I thought that Professor Oak had them driven off a few weeks ago?" Ash said, reflecting back to the day that Oak had left with his gigantic dragonite. Gary had been bragging about being taught by his grandfather all day after that.

"He did." Amelia confirmed. "But they came back. I heard they've been attacking trainers, so we should probably be on guard. My older sister in Viridian City told me that the Pokemon Center there has been getting a lot of hurt people in from them."

Jonathan groaned and kept a hand on his pokeball. Ash noticed that he was quickly glancing around at the trees as if he was trying to spot the flock.

"Too bad none of us have an electric type." Ash said. "Nidoran doesn't have any moves for a lot of pokemon at once. How about you guys?"

"Bulbasaur knows vine whip and sleep powder." Amelia said off the top of her head. "I'm going to teach him poison powder and razor leaf soon. But right now I don't think he could do very much against a flock of spearow. They would have way too good of a type advantage."

"Ember would be able to fight off a few of them." Jonathan whispered as he continued searching the area for birds. Both Ash and Amelia looked at him oddly. "But he would have to get closer before he could really do anything."

Ash shrugged. They would just have to run if they came across the flock. For now it seemed like the sun was about to set.

"Hey, guys, it's getting dark. Do either of you know how to set up a camp?"

Jonathan and Amelia shook their heads. Ash sighed, realizing that he probably should have asked someone to teach him before setting out on their journey. It looked like the first night would be pretty uncomfortable.

They continued on for a bit longer before reaching a place that would be comfortable to sleep in. It was a small clearing surrounded by trees. The clearing had decent cover from any surprise rainfall they might get and was out of the way enough to keep them out of trouble.

At least they had all remembered to bring their sleeping bags, Ash thought as he laid his out on the ground. Jonathan was out searching for logs or something to burn while Amelia had begun to divide up small portions of food for them. Ash had to find a place to get more water in case they ran out in the morning.

Their large, thick plastic water bottles still had plenty in them, but none of them were willing to just play around in the wilderness. They'd all heard too many horror stories of kids getting lost and being found after they'd died from the wild. None of them wanted to be like that.

Ash yawned and wondered where Jonathan was. He definitely wouldn't be in any trouble – the pokemon around Pallet Town tended to be young and weak and wouldn't want to mess with a charmander – but he wasn't the smartest guy in class and could get lost. Anyone could get lost when it was this dark, although charmander and its tail flame would come in handy.

Just as he and Amelia were beginning to get worried, they heard a rustling at the edge of the trees. Amelia released her bulbasaur and Ash was just about to release Nidoran when they realized it was Jonathan. Their friend stumbled into the dark campsite with his arms full of small branches and other foliage.

Both of them were in awe of how much Jonathan had managed to carry and didn't say anything as he threw the massive pile into the small circle of stones they had created and collapsed near his sleeping bag. He was barely visible in the dim light from charmander's tail, but Ash could see him tiredly point at the pile of fuel.

"Catch that on fire." He said with a yawn. Charmander shot a small stream of flame onto the brush before walking over next to his trainer and curling into a ball, although the lizard was careful to keep its tail flame away from Jonathan.

"Put that out before you guys fall asleep." Jonathan said tiredly. Ash nodded and got off of his sleeping bag so that he could scoot closer to the fire's warmth. He released Nidoran, who seemed rather happy with the small camp. The small creature sniffed around for a few moments before sitting next to Ash and staring at the fire.

Ash heard snores coming from his left, which meant that Amelia had fallen asleep. He smiled as he thought of his two new traveling partners. Jonathan and Amelia had been good friends at school, but they hadn't really associated with him very much. In fact, the only thing he had really known about them was that they would be leaving on their pokemon journies, just like him. The rest of the class had been either too young or deemed too irresponsible to leave Pallet Town.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by Nidoran, who seemed to be growling at something. Ash frowned in concern and stayed silent as Nidoran's ears twitched. If there was something out in the woods, it would definitely be Nidoran to realize it.

After a while Nidoran relaxed, but Ash was still on edge. He hadn't realized just how nervous sleeping in the wilderness could make him. Ash grew less tense, but he still tried to listen to the forest. The trainer grew tired after about half an hour of sitting next to the fire and decided to go to sleep.

Before he went to the sleeping bag he poured a pile of dirt they had gathered over the dwindling flame, extinguishing it. As he slid into his sleeping bag he looked at Nidoran, who had stayed close to him the entire time.

"Will you wake up if you hear something?" He asked slowly, unsure if Nidoran could understand him. Luckily, however, the small creature seemed to nod at him enthusiastically. Ash smiled at his starter. "If you hear something, make sure to wake us up."

Nidoran nodded and curled up next to him, although he kept his back and its poisonous barbs to the fire pit. The pink pokemon didn't want to hurt his trainer by accident.

Soon enough they were both asleep, tired after their first day on the road.

XxXx

Ash yawned as he woke up and stretched his stiff muscles. He looked around and noticed that Nidoran was standing next to him. The small pokemon nipped him again to keep him from going back to sleep.

"I'm up." The trainer said, waving Nidoran and his sharp teeth away.

It looked to be almost noon if the powerful sun was any indication, and Ash realized that he needed to wake the others up. They all wanted to get to Viridian City as fast as they could, so every hour counted.

He walked over to Amelia since she was closer and shook her awake. She groaned and told him to go away, but he kept at it until she finally got up. Amelia rubbed her eyes and tried to smooth out her hair.

"What time is it?" She asked with bleary eyes.

"I think it's close to noon." He replied. "Do you want to wake up Jonathan? I'll go fill up our bottles."

"Sure." She shrugged. Amelia dug around in her backpack for a moment before handing her bottle to him. After he'd taken it she walked over to Jonathan's sleeping form and lightly kicked him in the back.

Jonathan just waved her away, obviously still trying to sleep. Amelia sighed and walked over to Charmander, shaking the lizard awake. It had the same reaction as its trainer, but snorted out a small cloud of smoke to keep her away.

Ash watched from a small distance away with Nidoran as Amelia sent out Bulbasaur. The grass type looked around before focusing its eyes on its trainer.

"Wake them up with vine whip." She commanded. Bulbasaur nodded in agreement and sent out small vines from around its bulb, which it when smacked the sleeping forms with. Jonathan shot up with wild eyes and Charmander had a similar reaction, although the lizard also tried to use ember on Bulbasaur. Amelia returned Bulbasaur before it could get hurt.

"What was that for?" Jonathan grumbled. He rubbed the red spot on his arm where the vine had hit him before returning the irate charmander.

"That's for not getting up." Amelia said with a smirk. "Come on, we need to get going. It's almost noon."

Jonathan sighed and got out of the sleeping bag. Ash walked over and picked up the water bottle that had been behind the other trainer.

"Can one of you get my sleeping bag while I fill these up?" He asked. Jonathan sighed and nodded to him and began to walk over to the blue bag.

Ash soon found himself at the small stream with Nidoran, who was carefully listening to their surroundings. He took the top off of the bottles and quickly filled the thick plastic containers up. Jonathan would probably need to have Charmander boil it for them – he'd remembered about the dangerous illnesses people got from drinking water from ponds, and the bottles were made to be nearly incapable of melting – but it should be fine.

By the time he'd gotten back to the campsite his companions had cleaned everything up. Amelia looked to have just finished packing up her things, while Jonathan was leaning against a tree. Jonathan looked like he was about to fall asleep again, but every time he closed his eyes Bulbasaur – who Amelia had released while he was gone – lightly whipped him again.

Suddenly, a horrible shriek broke the serene silence of the forest. Nidoran's ears twitched and turned toward the source – Amelia. Ash curiously looked for whatever had made the normally calm girl scream, and easily identified it.

A small purple rattata was pawing at her backpack and had completely ignored Amelia. She flushed from her embarrassment at screaming and turned to Bulbasaur.

"Use vine whip!" She commanded. The grass type nodded and released its vines, which brutally smashed into the small rodent. Rattata growled and ran towards Bulbasaur with its teeth bared. Bulbasaur tried to whip it again, but the rattata suddenly seemed to vanish before impacting the grass type.

Ash watched curiously as Bulbasaur was knocked onto its side by the quick attack. The rattata wasted no time in savagely biting and scratching Bulbasaur, and nearly bit one of Bulbasaur's vines when Bulbasaur used them to pull itself up.

Amelia was digging through her bag for something when the rattata used quick attack again, although this time Bulbasaur stood strong against the attack. The rattata tried to bite Bulbasaur again, but it was knocked over as Amelia threw a pokeball at it.

As the small ball bounced off of the rat, it opened up and shot a beam of red energy at the rattata. It sucked the pokemon into the ball and everyone was silent as it shook three times before finally clicking.

"YES!" Amelia exclaimed, pumping her arm into the air as she walked over to the pokeball. She reverently picked it up and stared at it for a moment, seemingly unable to believe that she had caught her second pokemon.

"Good job, Bulbasaur!" She said to the wounded pokemon. Amelia kneeled down and wrapped it in a tight hug, but drew away when Bulbasaur winced from its injuries. "Do any of you have a potion? My mom forgot to buy mine."

"Yeah." Jonathan said as he dug around in his bag. A few moments later he withdrew a small bottle. He tossed it to Amelia, who deftly caught it and unscrewed the cap. She sprayed it onto Bulbasaur's injuries, and the grass type closed its eyes happily as the potion healed the scratches and bites.

Amelia recalled Bulbasaur, who looked quite happy to be going into his ball. Ash did the same with Nidoran. Neither could keep up with them yet, and Ash didn't want Nidoran to get tired.

"Now that that's over," Jonathan said as he put his backpack on, "let's get going. I want to break my mom's time."

They all agreed and set off a few minutes later. Ash hoped that he would find a pokemon or another trainer to battle.

XxXxXx

After about an hour of walking they found another trainer, a girl that was fishing next to the path. Ash grinned and the group walked over to her. He wanted Nidoran to get lots of experience before the first gym leader.

"Hey!" He called out. The girl looked over at him irritably, allowing Ash to get a better look at her. She had orange hair that was tied into a _unique_ ponytail.

"What do you want?" She asked in annoyance, clearly not impressed with him. Apparently she expected that he wanted a battle as her pokeball was in her hand.

"Do you want to battle?"

"Sure." She grinned cockily. "Don't expect to win though. One on one?"

Ash just smiled and nodded before tapping the release button. Nidoran growled when it was released and extended his barbs to their full length. The girl looked surprised at the appearance of Nidoran but shrugged and released a pokemon that Ash recognized as a staryu.

He waited for her to make the first move. She was definitely more experienced than him, so he would give her a few seconds to act. Staryu wasn't something he knew a lot about, so an indication of its abilities would be nice.

The girl seemed to realize this and grinned. "Use harden and follow up with tackle!"

Ash responded quickly. "Confusion!"

Nidoran's eyes glowed a bright, ethereal purple as it stared at the rapidly approaching staryu. The staryu seemed to realize what was about to happen, but continued its charge. The psychic attack knocked the staryu onto the ground. It didn't get back up for a moment, and Ash hoped that he had gotten lucky and knocked it out with one hit.

Unfortunately the staryu pulled itself back up, but the girl seemed a bit more wary of him now.

"Use water gun!" She cried. "Then harden and tackle again."

The staryu seemed to nod at her before turning back to Nidoran, who warily watched its opponent. A second later a strong jet of water erupted from staryu's core, and although Nidoran tried to dodge he was too slow.

Nidoran was stunned for a second, giving staryu a chance to finish up its attack. It seemed to glow for a moment, becoming completely rigid, before launching into Nidoran. Ash frowned as Nidoran cried out in pain and tried to think of a way out of the situation. His frown vanished as he realized that the staryu's gem seemed slightly duller than it had before. It looked like poison point had come in handy yet again.

"Use peck on its gem." He said. Nidoran jumped at the slower staryu and lowered its head. Its sharp horn landed straight in the center of staryu's gem, sending cracks through it and causing a look of panic on the girl's face as her pokemon collapsed.

Ash grinned and congratulated Nidoran when he realized staryu had fainted. The girl returned her pokemon and grumbled in annoyance, but walked over to him and shook his hand.

"You did good." She admitted. A few seconds later she sighed and dug around in her pockets, pulling out a wallet. Ash watched curiously as she pulled out a few bills and handed it to him.

"What's this for?"

"If you've got more than a thousand pokedollars you have to give the winner of a battle a share." She explained. "It's a pretty new rule, but it's made to give trainers a reason to get better. No one wants to lose money just because they're bad at battling."

"Oh." Ash said. He frowned for a moment. "What happens if you lose all your money? How would you buy food and stuff?"

"If you have a thousand pokedollars or less you don't have to pay." She explained. "Now, could you please let me get back to fishing?"

Ash didn't say anything and left with his new spoils, returning Nidoran as he walked back to his friends with a grin on his face.

"Good job!" Jonathan said excitedly. "Why did the staryu get all weak and slow after it tackled Nidoran, though?"

"Nidoran has the poison point ability." Ash explained, still smiling at his victory. "If something hits him his barbs can poison them. That's how I beat Gary."

Jonathan instantly stopped walking and turned to look at Ash. "You beat Gary?" He asked incredulously. "Why didn't you tell us about it?"

"Yeah." Amelia added. "That would have been a great story to tell us yesterday."

"Well," Ash began, scratching his head in embarrassment, "remember how he wanted to battle me once we got our starters?"

His companions nodded.

"He waited for me outside the lab and challenged me once I left. His squirtle wasn't trained and just kept on trying to tackle Nidoran. Nidoran's poison point knocked it out after we made it run into the wall."

"Wish I could have seen it." Amelia sighed. "Gary's really been a jerk lately. Oh well, we probably won't have to see him until the Conference."

"Hopefully." Muttered Jonathan. Ash nodded in agreement. They were quiet as they continued on their journey.

Every hour or so they encountered another trainer, most of whom were beaten by Ash. Amelia didn't want to do anything until she could get Bulbasaur checked out and she didn't trust Rattata yet. Jonathan battled them once Nidoran began to get tired. He won all of his battles as well.

By sunset both of them were rather tired from battling and the road. Ash had begun to feel the soreness from the first day of walking and his feet were aching a lot. He was starting to wish that he could just get carried around in a pokeball. At least he could just sit down.

Finally they found a good place to spend the night. It was almost exactly like their first campsite, but this one had a small pond right next to it. Not even Nidoran could detect any pokemon living in it so they judged that it was safe.

Everyone took the same jobs they had before, although this time Jonathan got plenty of fuel for the fire very quickly. He wasn't quite as tired as Ash was and didn't have to search around in the dark. By the time Jonathan had gotten back Ash had filled up the bottles and he and Amelia were making a small ring of stones for the campfire.

"Could you guys hurry it up?" Jonathan panted as he struggled to hold up the huge amount of fallen branches and small plants.

"Almost done." Ash said distractedly, placing one of the last rocks in the small circle. Amelia just scoffed and looked up at Jonathan with an annoyed expression.

"It's your fault that you got so much wood. What you've got would be enough to keep it burning for a week."

"Oh, shut up." Jonathan grumbled. "Now hurry up and let me put this stuff down. My arms are starting to hurt."

Amelia rolled her eyes but finished up their small pile of stones. Jonathan threw the massive pile of brush into the ring and sat down, panting heavily. He pulled his pokeball off of his belt and released Charmander.

"Could you catch that on fire?" He asked the lizard. Charmander yawned and lazily touched its burning tail to the pile of vegetation, instantly catching it on fire. All three trainers sighed in relief as the heat began to warm them against the cold night air.

Charmander watched the dancing flames for a moment before walking over to Jonathan and curling up by his side. Jonathan idly patted his head as he began to talk to the others.

"So, the first gym leader is a rock trainer, right?" He asked as he continued petting Charmander. Ash and Amelia released their pokemon as well, although Amelia kept Rattata in its ball. Apparently she still didn't trust the rodent.

"Yeah. His name is Brock." Amelia replied, leaning onto Bulbasaur. "My sister met him two years ago when she started out. He's supposed to be the weakest gym leader, mostly thanks to inexperience. But Jessica said that he was still pretty tough."

"Of course he is." Jonathan snorted. "He's a gym leader. If he was weak the League would find a new one. But I've heard the Sensational Sisters at Cerulean are the weakest."

Ash raised a quizzical eyebrow. "The Sensational Sisters?" He interjected. "I thought those were just performers."

"Nope." Amelia said, shaking her head. "They do a lot of shows, but they're also gym leaders. But I've heard that they're actually pretty tough. My sister lost to one of them the first time. She said that they just didn't care much about the gym and would probably be some of the hardest gym leaders if they were more focused."

"Yeah, but who cares about that? I just want to see one of their shows." Jonathan said with a grin. Ash looked at him in confusion.

"Why would you want to do that? I just want to battle them and get the badge."

"Well," Jonathan said with an even wider grin, "let's just say that they're so popular for a reason. Not all of the people are there just because they're talented."

"I still don't get it." Ash said with a growing sense of confusion. Jonathan just sighed theatrically and looked at him condescendingly.

"I'll tell you when you're older."

Amelia rolled her eyes but barely held in a laugh. Ash just blinked and shrugged. Clearly he didn't get the joke. It wasn't like he understood half the things that came out of Jonathan's mouth anyways.

"What are you guys going to use against Brock?" Amelia asked, returning to their original subject. "I'm just going to use sleep powder on whatever he sends out and then use vine whip or razor leaf if I'm able to teach it to Bulbasaur."

"I'm about to look at Nidoran's entry on the pokedex and see what moves he learns." Ash said with a shrug. "If there's something that would be effective against Brock I'll try to teach it to him. If not I'll either find another way or catch a pokemon that can. How about you, Jonathan?"

"Oh, that's easy." Jonathan said slowly, putting down his pokedex. He had pulled it out and seemed to be looking at the information on Charmander. "It says that he can learn metal claw pretty easily. I'm going to wake up early and try to get him started on it. Of course," he said with a grin, "my dad says there's a loophole for fire types."

"Really?" Amelia asked with a suspicious tone. "What is it and why would he know about it?"

"I really don't know if I should tell you." The trainer said playfully. When he saw Ash's glare he relented. "Fine, fine. My dad says that he found it on accident back when he was a trainer and went to the gym. You see, Pewter City's gym hasn't been renovated in a really long time and still has a really sensitive sprinkler system in it."

Dawning looks of realization spread across Ash and Amelia's faces. Jonathan looked rather proud of himself, judging by the imperious smirk he wore.

"Wow." Ash whistled. "Looks like you'll have a pretty easy time with Brock if you use a fire attack. I'd have thought they'd get that fixed in a rock type gym."

"Well they didn't. But," Jonathan frowned, "I really don't want to take advantage of that unless I have to. It wouldn't really be a win, would it? Just me taking advantage of a loophole."

Ash and Amelia nodded their understanding. The conversation continued for a while, each getting to know each other and what their goals were. Last night they had been too tired to really talk to each other, so this was a nice change.

He learned that Jonathan didn't really have a set goal other than to be a good trainer and succeed. Amelia wanted to win the Indigo League, although she admitted that just getting to the Conference would be a great success in her first year as a trainer.

And he, of course, wanted to be a Pokemon Master. Surprisingly, they hadn't laughed at it. Most people did laugh at his dream, thinking that it was just a youthful fantasy that would go away in a few months. But Ash knew that he could do it. He could feel it in his heart.

The group didn't stop talking until late in the night, although as they grew more and more tired the conversation began to die down a bit. Eventually everyone but Ash went to bed, although Nidoran was still awake and keeping him company.

Ash was reading the detailed entry of Nidoran on the pokedex, carefully examining his moves. He'd picked out double kick, which would work well with focus energy, and Nidoran's confusion attack. There weren't many moves good against rock types, but he'd already begun to work out a strategy that should work against Brock. It would be better if he knew what pokemon the gym leader would use, but as long as it wasn't something too powerful Nidoran would at least be able to hold his own.

"Hey, Nidoran." He asked, carefully nudging the small pokemon on its barbless face. Nidoran sleepily looked up at him, his large ears twitching. "Do you think you could learn how to use double kick?"

Nidoran nodded before walking over next to the empty sleeping bag and curling up into a ball. Ash wasn't sure if the nod was to get him to shut up and let Nidoran sleep or if it was a real confirmation. It looked like he would have to find out tomorrow.

Ash got into his sleeping bag after putting out the fire. It had been a long day.

XxXxXx

He was woken up by a stinging sensation on his face. Ash yelped and stood up, but got caught in his sleeping bag. When he had untangled himself and escaped it, he glared at the culprit.

Bulbasaur just stared back at him with unblinking eyes. Ash eventually broke the stare and grumbled as he stood up. Nidoran obediently stood next to him as Ash dug around in his backpack for food.

Nidoran quickly snapped up the pieces of food Ash put on the ground in front of him and looked at the trainer with begging eyes. Ash sighed and gave him a bit more, but put the food away after he'd gotten a sandwich.

"Why'd you have Bulbasaur whip me?" He complained to a smirking Amelia. "It was a lot funnier when I got to see it happen to Jonathan."

"Stop complaining." Amelia retorted. "The rest of us have been up since seven. You just stayed up too late."

"Wait, what time is it?" Ash asked in a panic. He didn't want to waste more time by oversleeping.

"Don't worry, it's just nine. We don't want to waste time any more than you do. We've got about another day or so of traveling."

He sighed in relief and recalled Nidoran before beginning to clean up his sleeping bag. Ash finished his sandwich as he shoved the highly compressed sleeping bag into the backpack. One thing he noticed was that he was much sorer than yesterday and every move brought aches and pains.

"So where's Jonathan?" He asked, not noticing the other boy anywhere. The entire camp was packed up and their water bottles had been filled again, but Jonathan wasn't even at the small pond. Maybe he was trying to teach Charmander metal claw.

"He's trying to teach Charmander that move he was talking about last night." Amelia explained as she recalled Bulbasaur. "It's actually pretty funny."

"How?" Ash asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Jon has no idea how to teach it." She said with a grin, sitting down on the soft dirt. "He's just been telling it to harden its claws or something like that. Charmander just looks up at him and tries to go back to sleep."

"So it's true that pokemon take after their trainers." Ash said with a grin, laughing at the image Amelia had painted. She laughed as well, but an annoyed voice broke it.

"Oh, shut up." Jonathan said as he stumbled into the camp, breathing heavily and covered with ash. Both of them stared at Jonathan, slowly taking in his disheveled appearance.

"I wish someone had told us how we're supposed to teach pokemon moves." He complained as he collapsed onto a rock. "After Charmander started trying he ended up concentrating so hard that he snorted out a bunch of fire."

"Did you put it out?" Amelia asked in alarm.

"Yes, _mother_, I put it out." He scoffed. "It got me covered with a bunch of soot and dirt though. And Charmander didn't help at all. He just went to sleep while I did all the work."

Ash grinned at the story. "Do you need to clean up?"

"Nah." Jonathan replied, although he flushed for some reason. "I actually only have one set of clothes, so I can't exactly wash them in the pond. It would hold us back too long anyways."

"Why do you only have one pair of clothes?" Amelia asked. "That's disgusting! You can't just wear one set the entire time we're on the road."

"Well, I sort of got in a rush when I was packing…" He said in embarrassment, scratching the back of his head. "But I left a few pairs with your sister and aunt last time we were flown to Viridian. If they threw them out I'll just buy a few other pairs with that money I won."

Amelia just sighed, clearly used to these sorts of things. Ash decided to get onto another subject before they headed out.

"Are you going to let your rattata out?" He asked curiously. "Bulbasaur is still hurt and you might need him to protect against wild pokemon."

Jonathan seemed to agree with him, judging by the vigorous nod he gave. Amelia flushed and looked down at the rodent's pokeball, lightly tapping it in apprehension.

"I'm still kind of scared of him." She admitted. "He hurt Bulbasaur pretty bad, and I'm afraid he's going to try and attack me if I let him out."

"Well, you've got to do it eventually." Jonathan said with a shrug. "Better to make friends with him now than later. I say you do it before we leave the camp. We've got some time to spare."

"Fine." She said. Amelia began to search in one of her backpack's pockets before pulling out a small piece of pokemon food. "Could one of you let your pokemon out?"

Both of them nodded. They tapped the button on their pokeball and the red energy soon coalesced into Charmander and Nidoran. Both looked around curiously, but seemed to understand what they were released for when Amelia released Rattata.

The rodent hissed when it was released and all the fur on its back stood up. It bared its sharp teeth at them all before growling at Amelia, who had kneeled to the ground and was holding out the food. Rattata looked like it might try to bite her when she began speaking, but a loud growl by Charmander and the sound of Nidoran's barbs extending rid it of that idea.

"Listen." Amelia said firmly. "You might not like me right now, but I want you to. And if you keep on like this you're never going to be released from your pokeball. If you act better we can be friends and you'll get stronger. So make your choice."

Rattata's ears drooped at the prospect of staying in the pokeball and it cautiously approached Amelia and took the food from her hand. Amelia smiled widely as the pokemon nibbled on the piece of food and spoke to it again.

"You're going to have to back into the ball now, but I promise to let you out as soon as I can. Is that all right?"

The rodent growled for a moment but cautiously nodded. It hissed as it was returned. Amelia smiled and shrunk the pokeball before placing it back on her belt. She was clearly pleased with the results she'd gotten and cockily glanced at Ash and Jonathan before walking onto the nearby path.

"C'mon!" She called back to them. "Let's get a move on."

Ash and Jonathan groaned before following her on their sore legs, although the pain began to lessen as their muscles were stretched. They caught up with Amelia pretty quickly and began their third day.

It progressed much the same as the last day. None of them were really concerned with getting to Viridian City very quickly, instead opting to enjoy the traveling and the frequent battles. Nidoran had recovered admirably from his battles the previous day and seemed to be itching for a fight against the other trainers.

Jonathan had his own good share of battles – winning most of them, more than making up for any losses – but eventually decided that Charmander had had enough. From that point on – about four hours after they'd started walking – it was just Amelia and Rattata and Ash and Nidoran's insatiably appetite for battling.

Amelia had proved to be pretty good as well – she was about the same level as Jonathan, and learned how to take advantage of Rattata's small size and surprisingly ferocious temperament rather quickly – and only lost two of her five battles. Ash kept his unbroken streak, much to the annoyance of his companions.

One thing that he had noticed was that there were a lot more trainers today, which he judged to be due to their proximity to Viridian City. They couldn't be more than a day away from the frontier city.

Still, by the end of the day he was extremely tired. Nidoran was still energetic – something that Ash didn't understand after all the fighting the small pokemon had done – and still wanted to fight. The last battle he had been in was an incredibly easy match against a younger trainer's caterpie. Needless to say, the caterpie was knocked out with a single confusion.

The tired group was looking for another campsite when a loud, piercing shriek split the air. Ash looked up and saw a pidgey perched high above them on a tall tree and grinned. One looked to be slightly larger than the others and looked down its beak at the group, apparently unimpressed with the trainers.

As it shrieked again, fluffing up its feathers and trying to look as intimidating as possible, his grin grew. He wanted the prideful creature. Ash decided to let Nidoran get one last battle in and pulled one of the empty pokeballs off his belt. He noticed that Jonathan had a hand clenched around Charmander's pokeball and another in a tight fist. Jonathan's face was pale and he was looking away from the bird.

He tapped the button to release Nidoran and laughed when the pidgey puffed up even more before it shrieked out another challenge. Nidoran instantly locked eyes with it and lowered his larger horn, extending his barbs with a small clicking sound.

Pidgey waited until Nidoran was ready before swooping down with another loud shriek. Ash let it get off its branch before giving an order to Nidoran, who was squared and more than ready for the bird pokemon.

"Use confusion." He commanded. Nidoran's eyes glowed an ethereal pink, and pidgey seemed to try to spin around in midair for a second. Ash grinned as the psychic attack took effect, but winced when the pidgey went careening into a small tree. It didn't look to be harmed from the impact, but it continued to stumble around as it clumsily stood up.

"Tackle it." He said. His pokemon charged at the pidgey quickly, covering the ground at a decent pace considering Nidoran's small legs. The pidgey turned to look at Nidoran just a moment before the poison type tackled it, knocking the bird unconscious.

"Great job!" Ash cheered as Nidoran walked over to his feet. He leaned down to pat him on the head before returning to the situation. A second later he hurled his pokeball at the pidgey and hit the bird in the wing. The ball bounced off before opening up and sucking the pidgey into it.

Pidgey was helpless to resist in its unconscious state and the pokeball clicked after rolling around a bit. Ash pumped his arm up into the air in victory and walked over to pick the newly occupied pokeball up, reverently attaching it to his belt.

"Is it gone yet?" Jonathan asked tightly through closed eyes. Ash just grinned.

"We've got a new traveling companion. Does that count as it being gone?"

Ash and Amelia laughed as Jonathan groaned. Amelia gave him a thumbs up, but they were interrupted by Jonathan dramatically groaning and throwing his hands in the air, although the other boy made sure to reattach the pokeball to his belt first.

"Why would you catch the feathered menace?" He lamented, falling to the ground and burying his face into his hands. "It's probably going to watch me at night with those cruel, beady little eyes…"

"Wait, since when did you use words like that?" Amelia asked. "I didn't even know you knew what _menace_ meant."

"Ha, ha." Jonathan laughed sarcastically, standing up and glaring at her. "Of course I know what menace means. I'm not dumb. Whatever, let's just go. I don't want more of those monsters to find us."

The other two rolled their eyes, but followed him as he stalked down the path. Jonathan kept a close eye on all the trees they passed, searching for any bird pokemon.

"Why are you so scared of bird pokemon anyways?" Ash asked, recalling Nidoran. "There are a lot of pokemon a lot scarier than them."

"I'm not scared of them." The other boy said in a very high voice. "I just don't like them."

"Oh, here we go." Amelia groaned, apparently knowing what was about to happen. "You'll be sorry about asking him about that later."

"Shut up!" Jonathan growled, turning to face Amelia. "It's your sister's fault anyways."

"What happened?" He asked curiously. Ash had met Amelia's older sister a few times before, although he'd never talked to her very long. She'd seemed nice. Maybe she just liked messing with Jonathan.

Amelia laughed. "She was showing off her new murkrow after she got back from Johto while Jon was over a few years ago. Jon spent the night and –"

"And that stupid bird decided to watch me sleep." Jonathan said irritably. "I woke up and saw those creepy, glowing red eyes staring at me and freaked out. That stupid bird got scared and decided that I was dangerous so it used nightshade on me. That's when everyone woke up."

"Yeah, because you were screaming like a little girl." Amelia said, although there wasn't any bite to her words. "Besides, it's not like it hurt you that bad."

"Didn't hurt me that bad?" Jonathan asked incredulously. Ash noticed that they seemed to have forgotten about him. Apparently this was an old argument between them. "I was sick for a week and still have nightmares about that damn bird."

Amelia rolled her eyes and waved her finger at him disapprovingly. "Language," she said condescendingly. "What would your mom say if she heard you say that?"

"Don't remind me." Jonathan grumbled. "Remember that one time when –"

Ash decided to put an end to the conversation. He was tired, and there reminiscing was starting to get on his nerves. Even if the story about the murkrow was pretty funny…

"I see a place we could set up for the night." Ash interjected, pointing out a small area a few feet away from the trail. Several picnic tables and chairs were there, making it much nicer than the other places they'd stayed. Another pond was next to it and reflected the sunset.

Jonathan grinned and walked over, leaving Amelia behind and huffing in annoyance. Ash shrugged and followed sluggishly. They quickly delegated the responsibilities again, although Jonathan groaned when he realized he'd have to get the firewood again. Ash didn't envy his job, not if Jonathan was half as sore as he was.

Ash didn't focus on him too long, instead refilling everybody's water and releasing Nidoran. Pidgey stayed in the ball. It would probably be best to wait until morning before releasing the bird. By then it would be completely recovered.

Soon enough everyone had completed their routine and Jonathan came back with a much smaller pile of brush than usual. Ash knew that for once he wouldn't be the one putting out the fire. He just wanted to sleep.

He rolled out his sleeping bag and got in, feeling Nidoran burrow into his side. The last thing he heard was the muttered conversation between Amelia and Jonathan, filled with laughter and jokes.

XxXxXx

Ash practically leapt out of his sleeping bag as a sharp pain erupted throughout his side. All of his fatigue vanished as he glared down at Nidoran, whose ears were twitching. The small creature's eyes were nervously glancing around the campsite and Ash realized that something was wrong.

Jonathan and Amelia were still sleeping, but Ash resolved to change that. He quickly skirted around the small ring of stones and the smoldering remains of the fire and lightly kicked Jonathan in the back. The other boy groaned and turned over but didn't wake.

Ash groaned in annoyance and kicked him again, this time much harder. It wouldn't really hurt Jonathan, but it might give him a small bruise for a few days. This time it worked, and Jonathan snapped up and glared at Ash.

"Don't say anything." Ash said sternly. "Nidoran thinks something is wrong, so we should probably get out of here."

The other boy grumbled a bit but began to pack up his things. Ash walked over to Amelia and repeated the same process he had done with Jonathan. She was a much lighter sleeper than either of the boys and scrambled out of her sleeping bag on the first light kick.

"Is something wrong?" She asked once she'd awoken. Ash nodded and explained the situation. Amelia seemed alarmed – she always read about pokemon at school, so she probably knew that nidoran were good at sensing danger – and quickly packed her things.

Ash got all of his stuff packed pretty fast. He'd only taken out his sleeping bag and a small bag of food for Nidoran, so there wasn't much to do. By the time he was done Amelia and Jonathan were impatiently waiting next to the tables.

Just as he began to walk over – recalling Nidoran as he did so – he heard what seemed like dozens of loud, shrill cries. All of the trainers' eyes widened as they recognized the familiar call of a flock of spearow.

"Crap!" Jonathan exclaimed as he began running down the path. "Run!"

Ash and Amelia were only too happy to follow suit and ran down the path after their friend. Neither could run as fast as Jonathan – he was one of the fastest kids in Pallet Town – but they managed to keep up as they ran from the flock of spearow. Ash could hear the flocks' wings beating as they continued to cry out.

He took a chance and looked behind him for a moment. Ash instantly regretted that decision. Several dozen spearow were following the group and some had even begun to overtake them. He could see that several had managed to get in front of Jonathan.

The trainer hoped that they would get bored, but after what Amelia had said about them he doubted it. Spearow were notoriously fierce when protecting their territory, so the only way they would escape the flock was if they passed the unseen barrier that marked the end of the flocks' land. Of course, their territory might be too far to escape from, especially if they were led by a fearow.

As if to confirm his fear, he heard a deeper, more intimidating squawk that rose above the chorus of spearow. Ash cursed and focused on running, doing his best to ignore his sore muscles and the fatigue that was rapidly building up in his legs. He could see that his friends were slowing down as well, although both were still managing to keep ahead of him.

Even as his body began to slow down, the burst of adrenaline he'd received when he saw the flock chasing them fading, he focused on just running. The sound of air being displaced by the spearow just a few feet behind him kept him going.

Until he tripped, anyways. Ash cried out as he fell onto the rough path and skinned parts of his forearms. The others turned back to look at him in panic, but he tried to get them to move on. The spearow wouldn't kill him – very few people were killed by pokemon, and those that were killed using died due to an accident, their own negligence, or one of the powerful, raging pokemon like a gyarados – even if they would probably hurt him a bit. Jonathan and Amelia could just find help and come back to get him.

"Run!" He shouted at his friends, even as the caws of the spearow grew ever closer. "I'll be fine."

Jonathan was all too happy to follow his orders – probably too terrified of the birds to do anything helpful anyways – but Amelia hesitated for a moment before the rapidly approaching flock and their fierce cries got her to leave.

Ash closed his eyes and covered his head, anxiously awaiting the sharp beaks and claws that were sure to come. He waited for a moment, and was surprised when nothing happened, although he could still hear the spearow just behind him.

Suddenly, he heard a deep voice call something out. Ash began to look up just to be nearly blinded as a blindingly bright bolt of electricity arced through the air before striking the flock behind him. Ash hissed in pain as his vision went completely white and focused on what he was hearing.

The trainer could hear small thumps as the spearow hit by the bolt of lightning fell to the ground. Ash's vision was beginning to clear up, but he still couldn't see very well. He began to stand up when he noticed that almost every spearow seemed to have been knocked out, but went back down as he heard the fearow's annoyed shriek.

He looked back up and managed to see a glimpse of a massive, dull orange bird flying at a high speed towards the direction of the voice that had probably saved him a lot of pain. Ash's vision finally cleared aside from a few flashing spots and he managed to lock his eyes onto the fearow as it swooped downwards.

Ash saw a yellow, canine-like pokemon that was shooting small bolts of electricity off of its body as it casually dodged the large bird, who nearly face planted into the ground before pulling up at the last second with a loud call. He watched the pokemon – which he recognized as a jolteon – dodge another swoop before the voice called out another command.

His eyes focused on a tall teenager. The mystery trainer had a cap on that hid their eyes and had a wide grin on his face as he pointed at the wary fearow that circled above them. Jonathan and Amelia were standing next to the stranger with amazed looks as they watched the jolteon.

"Hyper beam!" The teenager shouted. Jolteon didn't show any sign of hearing it other than opening its jaws and tracking the fearow. Small orange particles of energy began to coalesce into a ball of fiery energy in the jolteon's mouth before a powerful beam erupted from the jolteon's maw.

Ash was awed by just how powerful the move was. It blasted through the air, narrowly missing fearow. He thought that it was over, but the jolteon swept its head to the side and caught the fearow in the beam.

Fearow shrieked in panic as the beam swept over its chest, singing feathers and blasting it away. The large bird managed to catch itself slightly before it slammed into the tree and collapsed to the ground in a state of unconsciousness.

Even if the bird had fainted in the end, Ash was more impressed that it had managed to withstand a hyper beam. He'd been reading up on some of the more advanced attacks on his pokedex, and hyper beam was definitely one of the most notorious moves in that regard.

His attention was soon drawn to the trainer again, who was ruffling the jolteon's ears in pride. Ash noticed that the small bolts of lightning that were still arcing off of the jolteon's fur didn't seem to bother him at all.

Ash stood up and began to walk towards the trainer and his friends, ignoring the dozens of unconscious spearow behind him. He already had a pidgey, so wasn't particularly interested in having another pokemon that was practically identical. Besides, spearow were pretty aggressive and he'd heard that a lot of them fought with their trainers' other pokemon.

"Are you all right?" Jonathan called out as he approached them. His face wasn't quite as pale as it had been when they'd first started running and he seemed to be back to normal.

"Yeah." Ash responded. Amelia looked concerned, but looked satisfied by his answer. He turned his attention to the mystery trainer. "Err, thanks for saving me from those spearow."

"No problem." The other trainer grinned. Ash could see that he had warm brown eyes and dark red hair, but was otherwise pretty average looking. "My name's Michael. What's yours?" He asked, sticking out his hand.

"Ash." He responded, shaking Michael's hand. The older trainer's eyes suddenly returned to the unconscious fearow and pulled out a pokeball. Michael carefully threw the pokeball and easily caught the fearow.

"Sorry about that." Michael said once he'd called the pokeball back to his hand. "But that fearow is the whole reason I'm down here. The League heard about the flock and hired me to capture it."

Amelia's eyes brightened. "You work for the League?"

"Not officially." Michael shrugged. "I do a few odd jobs for them, but it's on a pretty infrequent schedule. Mostly I just take care of aggressive pokemon and catch them. After that I either keep them or just give them to the League."

"What about those spearow?" Jonathan spoke up, saying the word spearow with distaste.

"Those little guys?" Michael asked, sending a glance to the small birds. "They won't be a problem. Most of them will just go back to their nests now that the fearow is gone. It's always the fearow that turns them aggressive."

Jonathan just nodded, but still glared at the fallen birds.

"Anyways," The older trainer continued, "are all of you okay?"

The group nodded. Ash's scrapes were just a small nuisance.

"Good. So, you guys are on your way to Viridian City, right?"

"Yeah." Amelia responded. "How far away is it? We've been travelling for a few days."

Michael thought for a moment. "Two hours, if you can keep up with me. I need to get back to Viridian anyways, so I might as well get you guys there too."

"We can keep up." Jonathan said resolutely, puffing out his chest in pride.

"Alright then." Michael grinned. "Let's get going."

XxXxXxXx

They arrived at Viridan two and a half hours later. The entire group - except for Michael - was sweaty, dirty, and tired and couldn't wait to get to Amelia's sister's house. From the way Amelia and Jonathan fondly recalled memories of the place it was rather nice.

Michael accompanied them through Viridan, saying that he could wait a while before heading to the Pokemon Center. That would be there next location after they dropped their things off and got cleaned up.

Ash was amazed at the size of Viridian and eagerly took in all of the sights that he could. He had never been to a city before, aside from a few visits to nearby cities when he was younger, and was amazed at how much bigger everything was than in Pallet Town.

His amazement soon ended, his fatigue winning out over the sights. Fortunately, Amelia's sister – a twenty year old named Jessica – lived close to the city's border. The Pokemon Center was only a few minutes away, so they wouldn't have to worry about getting lost.

As they walked towards the small home that Amelia and Jonathan pointed out, Ash decided to ask Jonathan what pokemon he had. Maybe he would have a fighting type. He still wasn't sure how he was supposed to teach Nidoran double kick.

"What other pokemon do you have?" He asked curiously. Michael perked up, clearly happy with this line of questioning.

"Aside from Jolteon, I've got a steelix, gyarados, arcanine, machamp, and alakazam." Michael grinned, aware of the awed looks on the group's faces.

Amelia spoke up first. "That's incredible!" She exclaimed. "Most of those are really hard to control. How long have you been a trainer?"

"Six years, give or take a few months." Michael shrugged. He turned his attention back to Ash. "Why did you want to know?"

"Well, I wanted to know if you had a fighting type." He admitted, nervously scratching the back of his hat. "I don't know how to teach my Nidoran double kick, and that's the only move he can learn that could hurt Brock."

"Brock, eh?" Michael said. "I remember him. Yeah, I can give you some pointers. The secret for a Nidoran is to just get it to jump and use the attack. Their legs aren't long or strong enough to do the kick by themselves, so you've just got to get gravity on your side and then just drop kick."

"How will I know if I've got it right?" Ash asked curiously. "I know that I've seen a lot of fighting moves glow, but I don't know if that's just a technique or not."

"In a way, it is. The glowing limb or area is the part that's going to be used in the attack, but the glowing itself is caused by complete mastery of the attack." Michael explained. "When your Nidoran evolves it'll take a bit of time and practice in order to get it used to the attack enough for it to glow."

"I get it." Ash nodded, noticing that both Amelia and Jonathan were listening intently in hopes of getting a few tips. "Thanks."

"No problem." Michael shrugged. He suddenly stopped in front of a small, grey house. Despite its drab color it looked rather happy looking and possessed a homely feel. The grass in front was slightly overgrown and he could see a massive Persian happily curled up on the small porch.

"This is it!" Amelia cried. She ran towards the house, closely followed by Jonathan. Their fatigue seemingly vanished in the face of hot food and showers. Michael and Ash trudged towards the thick wooden door, attempting to ignore the large Persian that stared at them as if they were nothing more than a rattata.

Ash noticed that Michael examined the Persian for a moment as they passed it. Amelia had given it a few scratches behind its ears as she and Jonathan had waited on the others and the feline was purring happily.

Once everyone had assembled on the small white porch, Amelia loudly knocked on the door. Ash could hear footsteps approaching a few moments before the door opened, revealing a happy looking teenager with a stark resemblance to Amelia. She looked to be about eighteen and her warm brown eyes widened when she saw the group.

"Hey, Amelia!" She said before grabbing her younger sister up in a hug and picking her up off the ground. Amelia coughed from the force and her sister blushed in embarrassment before putting Amelia back down.

"Hi, Jessica." Amelia wheezed out. "I don't know if Dad told you, but Ash is going to be staying with us. Is that guest room still there?"

"Yeah." Jessica said. She turned to look at Ash. "Sorry, I didn't recognize you. How long has it been? Three years?"

"That sounds about right." He responded. Jessica nodded before turning to Jonathan. The other boy grinned at her and held out his hand.

Jessica just smiled and wrapped him up in a hug. "Hey, Johnny. You need to come out here with Amelia more. It's been ages since I saw you."

"Only a few months." Jonathan grinned back as he stepped out of the hug. Now Jessica's eyes moved onto the last member of the group. When she saw Michael, her face twisted into distaste. Ash thought it was odd on the woman's perpetually smiling face.

"Oh, great." She said in annoyance. "It's you."

"I'm not particularly happy about this either." Michael responded with a roll of his eyes. "I thought that I wouldn't have to see you again after knocking you out of the Conference a few years ago. Anyways, I suppose I'll be leaving now. Good luck to all of you."

"Wait, wha—" Ash and Jonathan spoke in unison, only to be cut off by Michael practically fleeing the area. They looked at each other oddly, each regretting the fact that they wouldn't be able to grill the other trainer for more advice.

"Good riddance." Jessica growled before brightening up. "Anyways, come on in. Amelia, Jonathan, you can have your normal rooms. Ash, I've got a guest room that you can stay in. I'll have one of those two show you to it later."

They all nodded and obediently followed her into the home. It projected the same cheerful feeling as the outside of the house, and Ash noticed that several pokemon were idly laying about. The Persian that had been outside followed them in, butting its head into Jessica's leg. She absentmindedly scratched it as she showed them to a small room filled with couches and comfortable looking chairs.

"Have a seat." She said. "I'll be back in a few minutes with some food. I remember how hungry I was after going from Pallet to Viridian."

The group thanked her and picked out their seats. Amelia took an entire couch all to herself while Jonathan found a large recliner. Ash found a couch. He jumped when a small creature shaped like a exclamation point floated up from next to where he sat, earning a laugh from his companions.

"What is that thing!" He hissed, pointing at the strange creature that stared at him with its blank white eye. Amelia laughed for a second before calming down.

"That's an Unown." She said. "Jessica caught it in the Sevii Islands."

"An Unown?" Ash said, meeting the creature's stare with new interest. "Aren't those legendary in Johto? The Thousand Arms of Arceus, or something?"

"Yep." Amelia said smugly. "They're really rare. Jessica's gotten all kinds of people wanting to study it, but she won't let them. She's afraid they might hurt the little guy."

"Is it very strong?" He asked curiously. Legends were legends for a reason, and anyone who managed to catch them had to be really strong.

"No, it's not." A new voice said, breaking into the conversation. Ash looked over and saw Jessica carrying a tray of food. She handed it out to the hungry trainers before continuing. The Unown floated over to her and levitated next to her head.

"He's not very powerful at all, and is practically useless in battle." She continued. The Unown hummed in a tone that Ash construed as irritated, but quieted down when Jessica patted it calmingly. "But he's very intelligent. I don't know why he let himself be captured, but he's been a big help. He can get some of my pokemon that aren't very aggressive a lot more pumped for battles, so that's helped me out."

The Unown hummed again before levitating out of the room. They all looked at it leaving for a moment before digging into the hot food. Jessica watched them with a mix of disgust and bemusement.

"Is that how I ate at your age?" She asked. "No wonder all of my traveling partners left me. That's just appalling."

They ignored her, but by the time they'd finished eating Ash and Jonathan had some questions for her. Ash began to ask her about Michael, but Jonathan beat him to it.

"So, what's up with you and Michael?" He asked, swallowing the last mouthful of food. Surprisingly enough he had been the cleanest eater out of all three of them. "He seemed like a nice guy."

Jessica rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair, petting the massive Persian that had just leapt up onto her lap. "I'm sure he is, but we have our share of distances. We didn't get along back when I still travelled, and he was what trainers would call my "rival". Neither of us liked each other very much, but were both similar in skill level and encountered each other a lot. I'm sure at least one of you will have one by the end of the year."

All three glanced each other. Jessica noticed it and smiled.

"Looks like you got started a bit early. Who is the lucky guy?"

"Gary." The group answered in unison. Jessica laughed but turned serious after a moment, turning back to Amelia.

"You sent me a message about an injured Bulbasaur. Can I see it?"

Amelia's eyes widened as she realized that she'd forgotten about the grass type and quickly released it. Bulbasaur took a fighting stance and looked at the Persian before charging it. Its trainer groaned as she realized that it thought it was in a battle and tried to call out a command to stop.

Persian lazily yawned and batted Bulbasaur away as it tried to tackle the great feline. Bulbasaur finally heard its trainer's commands to stop after it got back up and glared at the Persian.

"It looks fine to me." Jessica said with a grin. "A few scabs and bruises, but nothing to be concerned about. If a pokemon is that willing to fight it probably just has minor injuries. You shouldn't even bother going to the Pokemon Center."

That cheered them up, but their conversation soon fizzled out. The group's exhaustion had begun to catch up to them, and Amelia soon called dibs on the shower. Jonathan rolled his eyes but didn't say anything, content to wait his turn. He was less bothered by the grime and dirt of the road than the other two and continued talking to Jessica.

Several hours later everyone was full and clean. Amelia had showed him the bedroom he would be staying in before she went to her own room to sleep, but Jonathan and Ash stayed up quite a bit later. Eventually they too began to tire, but before they went to bed Ash realized that he had forgotten about his pokemon.

"Hey, Jessica." He said to the tired woman. She glanced up at him, clearly waiting for his question. "Can I release my pokemon? I've got a Nidoran and a pidgey and neither have been out in a while."

Jessica blinked. "Yeah, that's fine. There's a perch in your room that your pidgey can sleep on. Your Nidoran can just go wherever. None of mine will bother it, but Persian might want to play with it."

Ash shrugged and thanked her before heading back to his room. It was small and painted the same dull grey as the rest of the house, but the bed was rather comfortable looking and there was a small eevee curled up on it.

He pulled the sheets back so that he could get in, unintentionally antagonizing the eevee in the process. It growled at him in a spectacularly unintimidating manner and went back to sleep. Ash smiled and released his pokemon before he got into bed.

Nidoran instantly walked over to his feet and sat down, but Pidgey seemed to be more resistant. The proud bird puffed out its small chest and leveled a steely glare at him, seemingly attempting to challenge him. Ash rolled his eyes and walked closer to the small bird, his bulk making it back down a little. Nidoran followed and growled at Pidgey, lowering his horn.

"Listen." He said calmly, kneeling to the bird's level. "We can do this the easy way or we can do it the hard way. If you accept that I'm your trainer now everything will be fine. If you don't then I'm going to have train Nidoran on you. What's your answer?"

Pidgey tried to meet Ash's eyes but looked downwards. Its chest sunk down a little. Ash frowned at the disheartened bird, although he was glad that it had accepted him as its master. Maybe a real name would return its pride.

"So, do either of you want names?" He asked suddenly. Both of his pokemon stared up at him, although Pidgey nodded. Nidoran shook his head. Ash frowned in concentration as he thought of a suitable name for Pidgey. He'd heard that pidgeot had impressive plumage. "Alright. Pidgey, is Plume a decent name?"

Pidgey nodded and fluttered its wings. Ash almost jumped as the bird landed on his shoulder, digging its sharp talons into the covered flesh. The newly designated Plume nipped his ear, although it wasn't painful.

"Alright, you can sleep on that perch over there." Ash said, pointing out the small, gnarled branch that extended from the wall. Plume fluttered over to it and nuzzled her head into her wing as Ash flipped the light switch.

Ash had carefully picked Nidoran up before turning off the lights. He was careful to avoid the poisonous barbs covering his friend's back lest he accidently poison himself. Nidoran was completely still as Ash placed him onto the bed, right next to the sleeping eevee.

He yawned as he slipped into the bed and felt blackness begin to overtake him. The last thing he felt was the comforting weight and warmth of Nidoran and the eevee.

XxXx

The next morning, everyone was frantically trying to get ready. They wanted to make some progress into the Viridian Forest, but they had all overslept an hour or two. Luckily, Jessica had stayed up a bit later last night and prepared food and replaced their supplies for them. That cut nearly half an hour of waiting time out.

Eventually the group was completely ready, each in clean clothes and more than ready to tackle the Forest. It was just a twenty minute walk away, so they weren't in such a hurry once everything was packed. Jessica was giving them last minute tips, but Ash noticed something on the newspaper.

He curiously examined the photo of a grim looking Michael outside of the Pokemon Center – which seemed to be slightly damaged and covered with soot – with his jolteon standing next to him. Michael looked far more dangerous than Ash had thought the teenager could. The teen had a scowl on his face and his eyes – despite being nearly hidden beneath his hat – blazed with anger.

Above the large picture that covered nearly a quarter of the page the headlines read in massive print: _Trainer Defends Pokemon Center! Team Rocket members still at large!_"

Ash didn't have time to read it before Amelia walked over.

"What's holding you?" She asked. Ash looked up and realized everyone else was ready to go.

"Nothing much." He replied and held out the newspaper. Amelia took it and began to look at it. "Now check out the headlines."

"Wow." She muttered, her eyes growing wide as she looked at the scowling face of Michael. "He must be really strong to be able to beat Team Rocket. It says here that he almost captured them with just his Jolteon. They escaped in a…balloon?" Amelia said incredulously. "Who uses hot air balloons for anything?"

"I don't know." Jessica said, butting into the conversation. "But don't try to follow his example. Michael's not my favorite person, but I know that he's strong enough that Team Rocket won't want to bother him. They know their limits and will certainly limit their activities when he's in the area."

"How do you know all that?" Jonathan piped up. He didn't move from his position by the door.

"He was my rival." She shrugged, avoiding his real question. "It was my business to know how strong he was. And he was stronger than most trainers even a few years ago. Michael's probably only gotten stronger since then. But that's not important. What is important that you stay out of Team Rocket's way. Run if you can, only fight if you have no other choice."

They sighed and nodded. Even if they would rather fight the criminals, they realized that their pokemon wouldn't even be a challenge for hardened Rockets.

"Alright." Jessica smiled. "Now get going. By the way, Amelia, I'm planning on entering the Indigo Conference this year. I'll just fly around to get my badges."

"That's great!" Amelia exclaimed. "Maybe I'll get to battle you."

"Maybe." The older girl shrugged. "Now, you should go before it gets too late. The Viridian Forest isn't a fun place to be and you need to get as far in as possible. Good luck."

The group thanked her and finally left Viridian, all eager for what was to come.

XxXxXxXx

"It's getting dark. Should we find a place to stay for the night?" Jonathan said, breaking the comfortable silence. Ash and Amelia quickly agreed, both beginning to tire. They had been walking through the dense forest for nearly six hours, although there had been breaks in the constant battles with wandering pokemon and the "bug catchers" – new trainers that tried to catch the easily available bug types and train them into fighters.

As Plume had proved when she singlehandedly wiped out a full team of three caterpie, a weedle, and a beedrill, they weren't doing a very good job. Charmander had defeated the others just as easily and appeared to becoming far more skilled with his flames.

Amelia had seemed to take joy in beating the appallingly weak trainers. Bulbasaur had spent quite a bit of time mastering its grass moves before Amelia had told him to knock out the bugs, and Rattata had proved just how brutal it was when it used its sharp fangs to tear into the bugs.

They continued walking through the darkening forest for several minutes before finding a good spot. It was wide open and next to a small stream and would be easily defendable against any of the highly territorial pokemon that made their home in these woods.

Once their routine had been completed Ash released Nidoran. He had about two weeks before he would have to face Brock at Pewter City and he would need every second of spare time to teach Nidoran double kick. Focus energy was already mastered, so at least he could fall back on that if he needed to.

Amelia and Jonathan released their own pokemon that needed to learn moves. Jonathan had Charmander scratching at a rock, which was apparently one of the best ways to learn metal claw. Amelia had Rattata attacking a tree with its long fangs so it would learn hyper fang. Bulbasaur was strengthening its vines by holding up large rocks.

All of them made progress. Charmander's claws had begun to shine brightly and make thin gouges into the rock, although the lizard still had a bit more to go. Jonathan was quite pleased with his pokemon and gave it an extra bit of food, which Charmander happily ate before curling up and falling asleep next to his trainer.

Rattata's fangs had begun to glow a bright white whenever it lunged at the tree, and large chunks had been torn out of the wood. Amelia praised it and also gave it more food. Bulbasaur was exhausted by the effort from his own training and also received extra food.

Nidoran improved the most. Ash had managed to find a video of a Nidoran using double kick in the pokedex files and showed it to Nidoran. The small pokemon now had an idea of what to do, and had practiced jumping high into the air before drop kicking whatever he was told to. His small feet had begun to shine brightly whenever he did the move.

Everyone was tired by the time they were done and quickly fell asleep, putting out the fire before they got into their sleeping bags. The pokemon were left out in order to warn the trainers of any approaching bug types.

XxXx

The next two weeks passed in much the same manner. Trainers grew scarce as they ventured further into the massive forest, but their encounters with wild pokemon grew. Only the roving groups of pikachu could give them much trouble, but if the group managed to separate them they were easily fought off.

Most of the trainers they met now were much more powerful than the ones at the entrance of the forest and had teams full of beedrill and butterfree, although some had more exotic options such as a rare scyther or bugs from Hoenn and Sinnoh. Only a few trainers had a more varied team, which showed them as trainers that were in the same situation as the group.

All of their pokemon had grown much stronger from the constant battles and had toughened up a considerable amount. Bulbasaur's bulb was growing larger, showing that it was nearing evolution, and had learned razor leaf and had mastered poison powder.

Charmander had perfected metal claw and could easily tear boulders apart. His tail's flame had begun to glow brighter and his skin had taken on the slightest hint of red. His evolution was also nearing.

Nidoran had mastered double kick several nights ago and had taken to using it in combination with focus energy during battles. Ash was glad that Nidoran seemed to be quite skilled with the move and knew how to apply it to great effect.

According to their map they were only a few miles from Pewter City. The forest was already beginning to thin and everyone was anxious to finally return to civilization. Their clothes were dirty, their hair was matted, and tempers had begun to fray. There still wasn't any real conflict, just slightly acerbic comments and cutting criticism, but everyone could see where the situation was taking them.

As they walked down the path through the thinning forest they were all feeling extremely anxious. Civilization was a welcome thing right now and each of them couldn't wait to get clean and eat all that they could. The pokemon also seemed desperate to get out of the forest. None of them naturally lived in forests, so they were all uncomfortable with the trees.

Just as they walked out of the clearing, a long, shining blade sliced through the air in front of them. Ash jumped back in a panic, hurriedly releasing Nidoran. He jumped away – closely followed by his shocked companions – and looked at the source of the attack.

Ash rolled his eyes and sighed as he saw a determined looking kid garbed in fake looking samurai gear glaring at him. Unfortunately the sword was very real, as shown by the sharp edge. The kid looked at them proudly and buried his sword into the soft ground before speaking to them.

"Are you trainers from Pallet?" He asked, leaning on the sword. Ash noticed that his helmet was slipping to the side as if it hadn't been put on correctly.

"Yes." Amelia answered cautiously, a hand on Rattata's pokeball. "Why do you ask?"

A wide grin split across the kid's face and he released his grip on the sword and withdrew a pokeball. He tapped the button and released a large pincir that clicked its large horns ominously at Nidoran.

"I was defeated by a trainer from the town of Pallet!" The kid exclaimed. "Now I must regain my honor. Prepare to be defeated!"

"You want to take this?" Ash asked Jonathan. The other boy grinned widely with a gleam in his eye. Jonathan laughed at the expression on the kid's face when he saw Charmander.

"Your fire lizard shall not defeat my Pinsir!" The boy cried. "Pinsir, use hyper beam!"

The group's eyes widened and their jaws dropped as small particles of orange light began to gather in the gaping maw of the pinsir. Jonathan recovered from his shock quickly and began to command Charmander.

"Dodge it!" He shouted. Charmander barely jumped to the side before the hyper beam burst from the pinsir's mouth, the powerful beam missing Charmander by a great distance and blasting through the trees. It was clear that the pinsir wasn't very experienced with the powerful attack, as it only managed to keep the beam going for a single blast. The pinsir was tired from the attack and collapsed to the ground for a moment, although it began to pull itself up.

By the time it was ready to fight again, Jonathan had already acted.

"Ember." He said. Charmander reared his head back and released a small ball of flame that hit pinsir. The tired bug had no chance against the attack and fainted, leaving Jonathan with a pleased smirk and the Samurai Kid with a crushed expression.

"How did you beat my Pinsir?" The Samurai Kid shouted angrily. "Your pokemon shouldn't have been able to dodge the hyper beam!"

"Oh, calm down." Jonathan replied, patting Charmander's head before returning the lizard. "Maybe if you actually trained your pinsir with it you would have won."

The Kid's face turned red with anger. "How dare you insult me! I still have a pokemon left. Put your lizard back out."

"Fine, I just hope –" Jonathan ceased his talk when he began to hear dozens of wings beating and a low buzzing sound echo throughout the forest. Everyone looked around the clearing nervously as the buzzing grew louder.

Jonathan quickly released Charmander again. Ash and Amelia released all of their pokemon, afraid of whatever was causing the noise. The Samurai Kid just ran away as fast as he could, something that made them realize that the situation was very bad.

A few moments later a dozen beedrill burst through the trees, their stingers raised and dripping venom. They instantly zoned in on Jonathan and Charmander, although a powerful ember forced them to stay away.

Ash knew he wouldn't be able to help much with Nidoran, so he recalled the small pokemon. Plume was awaiting orders, her wings tensed and ready to launch her into the air at a moment's notice. Amelia had already acted, ordering Bulbasaur to use vine whip and razor leaf on the beedrill.

"Gust!" He shouted, his voice barely carrying above the loud buzzing. Plume's sharp hearing picked his words out, however, and the pidgey burst up into the air. With a few beats of her small, powerful wings Plume had thrown several beedrill onto the ground where they were easily knocked out by Rattata.

Unfortunately the rest of the beedrill realized the threat Plume posed and went after the bird. Ash called out a warning but Plume was too slow to dodge the numerous barbs that shot from the beedrill's stingers.

The poison stings hit their mark and Plume began to fall to the ground. Ash ran to catch her, but the remaining beedrill tried to do a similar attack on him. He saw the small, sharp barbs flying towards him and closed his eyes even as he attempted to jump away.

Ash prepared to feel the barbs injecting poison into him, but instead heard a loud gale of wind. He opened his eyes in wonder when he didn't feel any pain and saw that the beedrill were flying away. A magnificent bird flew after them, throwing them down to the ground for Rattata with a single flap of its powerful wings.

When all of the bugs had been defeated the bird swooped down onto Ash's shoulder. Ash buckled from the bird's weight but managed to keep from going to his knees. He was aware of the amazed stares coming from his companions and looked at the bird.

A proud pidgeotto stood perched on his shoulder. The body had grown and become more powerful, but the fierce glimmer in the black eyes of the bird marked her as Plume. Ash winced as she nipped at his cap – the bird now much too tall to nip at his neck as she had before – and the sharper beak penetrated his hat and drew a bit of blood. Nevertheless he raised a hand to pat Plume on the beak.

"Thanks for saving me." He whispered. Plume chirped – a rather disconcerting sound coming from such an incredibly massive bird – and took off of his shoulder and into the air. Ash winced as the sharp talons dug into his shoulders through his jacket and gouged into his flesh.

He returned Plume and turned back to his amazed companions.

"Let's get to Pewter." He said before walking back down the path. The others stared at his back for a moment before following.

XX

"What kind of idiot uses hyper beam in woods where beedrill are known to nest!" Jonathan exclaimed, dramatically throwing his hands into the air. "How did he even teach his pinsir that move anyways? There was no way someone that inexperienced actually managed to teach it."

"Probably a TM. That pinsir obviously had no idea what it was doing. Remember how fast Michael's Jolteon used it?" Amelia responded as they entered the Pewter City Pokemon Center.

They had arrived at the city roughly an hour after their spat with the beedrill and Jonathan had been speaking about the idiocy of the Samurai Kid the entire time. Both Ash and Amelia certainly agreed with him, but would be much happier if he would just drop the subject. Aside from a strange man attempting to get them to buy random rocks nothing interesting had happened since they left the forest.

"Sounds right." Jonathan shrugged. "So, who wants to fight Brock first? Our pokemon are fine aside from a few bruises and I want to get going again as soon as possible."

The group looked at each other, none willing to let the others go in front of them. No one said anything for a while until Amelia finally broke the silence.

"Rock-paper-scissors."

Everyone decided that that was fair. Ash ended up winning the most out of three rounds, so he would be the one to battle Brock today. He just hoped that Nidoran was ready.

After the order was decided – Amelia would go after Ash and Jonathan would go last – they got two spare rooms in the Pokemon Center – Amelia would be in one while the boys shared the other - and put their stuff in them. It was barely noon, so they had plenty of time to shower and change their clothes.

An hour later, when everyone felt refreshed, they got directions to the gym and made their way to it. The gym was just a short distance away in the small city, and when they finally got to it Ash was practically jumping in excitement.

The gym was much less imposing than he had imagined, Ash mused as he walked to the heavy wooden door. It had thick slabs of stone at the front, supported by massive wooden beams. The stone only covered the front, though. On the back and the sides it was just an ordinary looking building.

Ash and the others struggled to get the heavy door open, although a good push forced it inwards. The room was dark and he could feel hard stone underneath his feet as he slowly walked in. He saw that there was a thin path of flattened stone that led to a small, lit area.

A teenager with dark skin and a green vest on sat on a small pedestal. Ash assumed that it was Brock. The teenager stayed still as he saw them enter.

"What are you here for?" He asked in a deep voice. Ash took in a deep breath and ignored his nervousness.

"I'm here to battle you for the Boulder Badge." He replied. Brock nodded – Ash noticed that the teen's eyes were almost completely closed, strangely enough – and began to speak again.

"It will be a two-on-two battle. You can switch pokemon. The victory will only go to whoever knocks out all of their opponent's pokemon, although forfeit is allowed. Are you ready?"

Ash nodded. Brock stood up and led them to a massive room.

He looked at the massive chamber in awe as he stepped in and examined the landscape carefully. The gym's interior had been carefully molded into a rocky battlefield with a small flat area in the very center.

He looked around and saw that there were balconies far above the battlefield, presumably for spectators. Ash noticed that Brock had walked over to the opposite side of the massive battlefield and was patiently waiting for Ash to finish looking around. He saw Jonathan and Amelia up in a balcony.

"Are you ready?" Brock shouted. Ash nodded and sent out Nidoran. The small creature growled as it appeared in the center of the field.

"Your pokemon is cute." Brock called out. "But it's no match for me. Go, Geodude!"

A round rock with small, beady eyes and two powerful looking arms appeared in front of Nidoran. It crushed its stone fists together before glaring at the small pink creature. Nidoran growled at it and extended his barbs.

"Begin!" Shouted the gym trainer that would be supervising the match. Ash wasted no time.

"Focus kick!" He cried. Ash didn't want Brock to know what exactly he was doing, so he had changed the focus energy and double kick combo into focus kick. Nidoran instantly tensed up before leaping as high as it could.

"Tackle." Brock said lazily. Geodude tried to slam itself into Nidoran, but as it passed under the small creature Nidoran performed doublekick. Nidoran's glowing feet seemed to land in just the right spot and the geodude was knocked out.

"Impressive…" Brock muttered before grabbing another pokeball. "But that was just practice! Go, Onix!"

Ash blanched as the massive stone snake materialized in front of Nidoran, its crest lowered as it glared at Nidoran. His pokemon backed up a bit, his large ears twitching nervously, but Nidoran did not flee. Its barbs began to leak more poison as it growled at the onix.

"Body slam." Brock ordered. The onix roared and dropped its body on top of Nidoran. Ash didn't have to tell Nidoran to jump out of the way.

His thoughts raced as he attempted to find a way to defeat the onix. Onix weren't as powerful as they looked, but their massive bulk intimidated pokemon and made even a tackle ridiculously powerful. Their bodies weren't very hard, however, and they could be penetrated with the right attack.

"Focus kick." Ash repeated. Nidoran's ears twitched in confirmation and tensed before leaping up into the air. Onix didn't bother to dodge, confident in its defense.

Brock should have been more cautious. The attack got a lucky location – the soft skin in between the rocky segments – and onix roared in pain. Ash grinned and began to order a follow up attack, but Brock was faster.

"Dig."

Onix forced itself into the air before tearing into the ground. Its body quickly vanished into the hole made by its crest and Ash realized that this might be it for Nidoran. There was no way he could defend against an onix using dig. All he could do was capitalize on the opportunity in any way he could.

"Run around, Nidoran!" He shouted. Nidoran obeyed and ran in random patterns amongst the small rocky crags and the dirt floor. It did little, however. A few seconds afterwards onix burst up into the ground directly beneath Nidoran.

Ash gulped as Nidoran went flying into the air, propelled by onix's crest. If Nidoran just landed on the ground he would be badly hurt. But if he found a way to get rid of that energy…

"Focus kick!" Ash shouted in desperation. Brock's eyes widened and began to shout at his onix to dig again. The onix was too slow to avoid Nidoran's powerful attack.

Nidoran's feet glowed as it dropkicked the stone serpent. The massive amount of energy he had accumulated during the fall all went into the attack on onyx's large head. Nidoran's attack sent small cracks threading throughout onix's head and knocked the rock type unconscious.

As onix's massive body crumpled to the ground a great amount of dust was kicked up. Ash held his breath and silently hoped Nidoran was alright. He hadn't been able to see the small creature's body due to the dust and didn't know how badly he had been hurt by the fall.

There was nothing but silence in the chamber as they waited for the dust to clear. Ash released his breath when the dust cleared, revealing that Nidoran was slowly crawling off of onix's body.

Nidoran ran to Ash in excitement when he was safely off the onix. Ash praised him and patted the small pokemon on the head for a while before returning the tired pokemon. When he stood up from his kneeling position he became aware of a tall figure just a few feet away from him.

"You did good." Brock admitted, holding out a small badge shaped like a boulder. "Here's the Boulder Badge. Are your friends going to come back tomorrow?"

"Thanks. They'll be here tomorrow."

Brock nodded in satisfaction. Ash supposed that he needed some excitement. It couldn't be easy to just sit on that pedestal all day.

Ash soon found himself outside the gym with Amelia and Jonathan. They seemed rather impressed with his performance, although he was just glad that Nidoran hadn't gotten hurt and that he'd won the battle.

"That was awesome!" Amelia said loudly, attracting the attention of several passerby. "I thought that you would end up losing against the onix, but you actually pulled out a win without Nidoran fainting! Me and Jonathan are going to have to do really good to outdo you."

Jonathan just nodded, although he had a grin on his face. Ash expected both of his friends to win their battle.

XXX

Amelia's battle had just begun. It was a one on one battle and she had chosen Bulbasaur. Brock had used his onix again and it seemed warier than it had the previous day. It tried to dodge the worst of the attacks and was doing surprisingly well for such a bulky creature.

"Rock throw." Brock commanded. Onix tore a piece of one of the small mountains off with its powerful mouth and hurled it at Bulbasaur.

"Dodge." Amelia shouted. Bulbasaur used his vines to pick itself up and avoid the massive chunk of rock.

"Now, vine whip!" She cried. Her pokemon lashed out at the onix with its vines, the effective attack cutting into the thick stone of its body. Bulbasaur continued to use vine whip against the weakened onix, although Brock soon put an end to that.

"Dig." Onix performed the same maneuver as it had with Nidoran and tunneled through the earth until it was directly below Bulbasaur. Amelia fully expected that and had Bulbasaur push himself away with his vines.

Onix burst out of the ground, raining chunks of earth upon Bulbasaur and the two trainers and creating a massive cloud of dust. It seemed to know where Bulbasaur was, as it quickly snaked its way towards a specific location.

"Stun spore!" Amelia shouted, unwilling to let the onix get close to Bulbasaur. Ash could see just the barest hint of golden spores coating the massive stone serpent before the dust swallowed it back up.

"Slam." Brock said. Onix roared and reared up out of the dust cloud before falling down onto Bulbasaur. Its movements were slow and thick, proving that the stun spore had worked effectively. Amelia ordered Bulbasaur to dodge and Ash saw just the smallest hint of a small green body through the cloud.

"Now, razor leaf! Finish it off with vine whip." Amelia ordered. Bulbasaur – now out of the dust cloud – obeyed and fired dozens of sharp leaves at the stone snake. Onix roared in pain as the leaves cut into its stone body, but collapsed when Bulbasaur used vine whip one last time.

Brock sighed when onix fell to the ground, but handed Amelia the Boulder Badge anyways. Amelia grinned and ran out of the gym after praising Bulbasaur for his victory.

XxX

"Metal claw." Jonathan said. Charmander's claws grew metallic and shiny as they gouged into Brock's graveler. The rock type roared in pain and tried to use fight back but Charmander ignored its resistance and continued to tear into it.

After a few moments the graveler fainted and Brock sent out a rhyhorn. It dumbly looked around for a few seconds before focusing on the fire type. The rhyhorn charged at the lizard, fiercely roaring as it neared its target.

"Metal claw." Jonathan lazily repeated. Charmander nodded and casually sidestepped the charging rhyhorn, tearing into the stone body of its opponent as rhyhorn passed. The rhyhorn tried to turn and attack Charmander, but it ended up flipping over and slamming into one of the stone hills.

Ash and Amelia both blinked as the rhyhorn accidently knocked itself out. Jonathan's battle had been shorter than either of theirs and he and Charmander had proven to be powerful fighters. Charmander was surprisingly agile and fast, although it still barely managed to dodge the worst of the rock attacks.

Brock seemed just as dumbfounded as he stiffly walked over to Jonathan and gave him the Boulder Badge. He also seemed to be talking about something to the other boy and Ash saw the gym leader recall rhyhorn and hand the pokeball to Jonathan, who reverently took it from Brock's calloused hands.

"Did he just give Jonathan a rhyhorn?" Ash asked Amelia as they stood up and walked out of the balcony.

"It looks like it." Amelia responded, equally dumbfounded. Although Jonathan was a good guy, he wasn't someone that you would give a pokemon to. He could be rather irresponsible at times.

Ash just shrugged and walked out of the gym, closely followed by Amelia. Jonathan had a wide grin on his face as he waited for them. He was tossing the pokeball up and down in the air and didn't seem to notice them at first.

When Amelia tapped him on the shoulder he took his eyes off of the pokeball.

"Can you believe it?" He shouted excitedly. "Brock gave _me_ a pokemon! And I got the Boulder Badge too!"

"Why did he give you that rhyhorn?" Amelia wondered. Jonathan brightened even more and seemed to be practically bouncing around in excitement.

"Brock said that it was causing trouble around Pewter so he had to go catch it. He doesn't want to put the time into training it when he has several good teams already and figured that I could use it. Brock saw that I only had Charmander, so he decided that I would be able to put the rhyhorn to better use than either of you."

"That makes sense." Ash shrugged. "Anyways, let's get ready. Do both of you have everything packed?"

"Yeah." Amelia replied. "Hopefully we'll be able to get to Mt. Moon within a week. I don't want to be out in the wilderness for so long ever again."

"Agreed." Jonathan said. "I'm completely ready. Let's just head back to the Pokemon Center and –"

All of a sudden the strange man that had been attempting to sell them rocks outside the city shoved past them, rushing into the gym. They all looked at the man oddly before shrugging and continuing on their way to the Pokemon Center. They'd been meeting a lot of weird people lately.

XxXxXX

Ash stood outside of Pewter with his friends. Plume was flying overhead, scouting out their path and reporting potential dangers. The road could be dangerous and treacherous at times, so every bit of safety helped.

Amelia and Jonathan stood next to him, both looking eager and determined to get past Mt. Moon and into Cerulean City. It would be a long journey, but by the time they finished they would be much, much stronger.

He grinned and started walking. They might have all the time in the world, but he didn't have all of the patience in the world. Ash wanted to be at Cerulean as fast as he could.

And then he would get to show just how good he was.


	2. Chapter 2: Mt Moon and Cerulean

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, or favorited last chapter. Sorry for the long wait and I hope that you all enjoy the story.

Mt. Moon was an imposing sight. The massive mountain towered above them, dwarfing even the tallest of the trees a thousand times over. Fearow and other birds cawed at each other from their nests in the rocky sides of the mountain.

Fortunately, they didn't need to go over the mountain. The only fast path was underneath it.

Ash gulped at the thought of being underneath the millions of tons of stone and dirt. He would prefer that there were an alternate way to get to Cerulean, but Mt. Moon was the only real way unless they decided to go back to Viridian again and take some of the side routes. There was a reason that trade between the two halves of Kanto – the west consisting of Viridian, Pewter, and the myriad of smaller towns such as Pallet and the east, which consisted of Cerulean, Saffron, Celadon, Vermilion, Lavender, and Fuchsia – was extremely limited and it was almost entirely due to Mt. Moon.

"What are we waiting for?" Amelia asked, noticing that both Ash and Jonathan had stopped. "Mt. Moon won't take us more than a day to go through and there are plenty of markers."

"Sorry." Jonathan muttered. "But do we really have to go down there? I don't like the idea of being underneath a mountain. What if it collapses?"

Amelia rolled her eyes. "That's not going to happen. The worst that can happen is that we find an overaggressive onix or something. Besides, I bet Rhyhorn will like it."

"Fine." Jonathan said, relenting. "Let's go, Ash. We might as well get this over with."

He gulped again and followed his friends as they neared the mountain's entrance. A Pokemon Center stood to the right of the large entrance, but they didn't bother to stop at it. The group had only been traveling for a week and had plenty of food and water left. Although they had been slowed down considerably – in no small part due to Ash constantly stopping to battle every trainer that they saw, although the others tended to do the same, if on a smaller scale – the travel was still quite fast.

Only Amelia seemed comfortable as they entered the dark cave. Small beams of light shot down from holes in the mountain and kept the cave from being pitch-black. Ash saw a beam of red light flash out from Jonathan's barely visible hand and form into the small, stocky body of Rhyhorn. The stone creature roared in happiness at being released and butted its heavy head against its trainer's leg.

Rhyhorn had been extremely disobedient for a while. When she was first released from her ball she attempted to run back to Pewter, but when Jonathan recalled the rock type and let her out again, Rhyhorn realized there wouldn't be any escape. Instead the pokemon opted to destroy their campsite and charge into trees.

Jonathan – who rarely grew angry with anything, although he was easily annoyed – snapped when the Rhyhorn attempted to charge at Ash and Amelia, who were already releasing their pokemon. He released Charmander and systematically destroyed Rhyhorn until it was so beaten and exhausted that it couldn't attempt to fight him.

Ever since he had defeated it in battle, Rhyhorn had been like a dumb, overly affectionate growlithe. Her massive body and horn weren't ideal for physical affection and had caused Jonathan quite a few bruises. Jonathan didn't seem to mind, however. He kept her out of the ball at night with Charmander and tended to use her to fight off any wild pokemon.

Jonathan paid little attention to Rhyhorn and just pushed her off before she accidently hurt him.

"Make sure there aren't any other pokemon around, alright?" He said. Rhyhorn stared at him dumbly for a few seconds before the meaning of his words sunk in. When the words made sense it nodded and charged into the darkness, roaring a challenge to any other pokemon.

"I hope she gets smarter when she evolves." Amelia commented while Jonathan sighed. Ash just sniggered. They continued along through the cave for hours. Rhyhorn appeared to have scared any zubat away, so they weren't attacked by the dangerous hordes of the bat pokemon that trainers told each other horror stories about.

Still, something seemed odd about the tunnels. They hadn't encountered a single pokemon or trainer since entering, despite the fact that this was the most commonly used route for newbie trainers going to Cerulean or Pewter City. It put Ash on edge, although neither Amelia nor Jonathan appeared to notice anything.

"I'm telling you," Jonathan said loudly, his voice echoing through the tunnels, "A gyarados would beat a dragonite with no problem. It can use dragon type attacks and isn't weak to any of the dragon attacks a dragonite would use."

"And I'm telling you that you're an idiot." Amelia retorted. "A dragonite is a lot more powerful than a gyarados to begin with and could just use a lightning attack. Even if the gyarados could beat it, the dragonite could just fly out of range."

"A gyarados could fly after it." Jonathan objected.

"Gyarados can't fly!" Amelia exclaimed, apparently having gotten into this argument before. "I've been telling you that for years."

"Of course they can." The boy said. "Why else would they be listed as a flying type in the pokedex?"

Amelia groaned and began to retort, but Ash stopped her.

"I can hear somebody." He hissed. Jonathan and Amelia just rolled their eyes.

"Of course you do." She replied. "It's not like this is a restricted area. I'm surprised we haven't seen another trainer yet. We have to be close to the end. I doubt we even have two hours of walking left."

Nevertheless, they stopped and stayed quiet. Ash listened intently for the voices he was sure he had just heard, but nothing surfaced. After a few minutes the others grew annoyed and moved on. He nervously followed him, not liking the feeling that they were going into danger.

Ten minutes later they began to hear loud hisses and cries from further down in the tunnel. The others seemed to realize that something was awry, and when Rhyhorn began to growl – a deep, powerful rumble that reminded Ash of an earthquake – Jonathan cursed and recalled the pokemon. No one wanted to be detected until they knew what was wrong.

As they began to draw closer they each began to develop a painful headache. Ash thought that he could almost hear a sound, but whenever he tried to focus on it his concentration slipped and he found himself walking into a wall or tripping.

"Do you think it's some sort of pokemon?" Jonathan asked nervously as they crept through the tunnel.

"No." Amelia said, shaking her head. "It sounds more like someone's captured a bunch of wild pokemon. You know our headaches? My sister told me that zubat and their evolutions can use supersonic and give people and pokemon headaches and confuse them."

Ash groaned as the pain grew worse. He clasped his hands over his ears in the hopes of blocking out the painful noise. To his surprise it managed to work and he was capable of walking in a straight line as long as his ears were covered. The others followed his example and they began to increase in speed.

The cries and screeches of pokemon grew even louder as they continued and Ash almost lowered his hand to grab Nidoran's pokeball. He didn't want to know what had managed to cause so many pokemon – especially the tough wild ones that had survived in the depths of Mt. Moon – such pain or distress.

Unfortunately his question was soon answered. As they walked through the slowly brightening tunnel – the greater amount of light was provided by electric lamps hanging from the ceiling – the group suddenly saw two adult men in black uniforms with a crimson "R" on the front walking around a turn.

The men saw them as well and shouted something to someone behind them. Ash saw one of them tapping a pokeball and felt panic surge over him. He'd seen those uniforms in various news articles and on TV. Only one organization wore uniforms like that – the notorious Team Rocket.

Jessica's orders to them if they ever saw Team Rocket sprang to mind and he went to obey them. Although being one of the valiant heroes that fought the villainous group sounded quite appealing when he was far away from the danger he found that being in a potential confrontation with them was much more terrifying than he would have ever dreamed.

"Run!" He shouted before taking off back into the tunnels. Ash kept his ears covered – his running wouldn't do him any good if he couldn't go straight – and glanced behind him. Jonathan and Amelia were quickly gaining on him, although the Rockets were running after them even faster.

He turned his head back and tried to stop when he saw a glimpse of a very large set of fangs a scant foot ahead of him. Ash cried out as he tripped into the gaping maw of the massive golbat – presumably owned by Team Rocket – but Nidoran's pokeball suddenly shook of its own volition and released the small creature, who hissed menacingly at the golbat.

The others had run into their own foes – a coiled ekans that was hissing at Jonathan and a koffing that menacingly grinned at Amelia. Ash pulled away from the golbat at the last second, narrowly avoiding its sharp teeth.

Suddenly he heard a loud hiss and a sort of squelching noise. Ash turned his face – pale with fear – back to the golbat, which seemed to have collapsed onto the ground. He saw the familiar form of Nidoran pulling his small horn out of the golbat's stomach and turning back to Ash.

His face grew even paler as he saw the red blood on Nidoran's horn. Nidoran's red eyes glinted with rage and determination as he turned and charged to aid Charmander in his battle with the ekans. Bulbasaur was mercilessly whipping the koffing with its powerful vines, forcing the helpless koffing to the ground.

Ash fought the urge to vomit as he saw the brutal fight. He glanced at the golbat and was relieved to see that it was getting back up, although it wouldn't be able to fight for a while. Even if the golbat was Team Rocket's that didn't mean it should die.

He had heard of pokemon fighting like this in defense of their families or trainer. It was something that every child knew. Pokemon could be dangerous. Even the weakest could easily kill a human, but all but those that were most overwhelmed by hatred were naturally against taking a life except for food or necessity.

But this was more terrible than anything he could have dreamed of. He knew that it was necessary – Team Rocket were real criminals, not the harmless ones on cartoons that made overly complicated plots and failed at doing anything – but it was still horrible.

Suddenly it was all over. The Team Rocket pokemon were unconscious and bleeding, although they wouldn't die. Their pokemon had turned towards the two men that had been chasing after them. Nidoran in particular seemed to be preparing to attack them with his horn and inject poison into their veins.

Just before Ash feared Nidoran would snap, a massive, moving pile of purplish goo pushed past the two Rockets and formed into a muk. Ash couldn't hold down the wretch that resulted from the muk's horrible smell – it was like someone had mixed rotting corpses, old garbage, and every other vile smell in existence and made a pokemon out of it – and spilled his breakfast onto the cavern floor. Amelia and Jonathan had similar reactions. He managed to place Plume's pokeball in his jacket's inside pocket as he did so.

"Recall your pokemon." A cold voice suddenly ordered, breaking the tense silence that had resulted from the muk's appearance. Ash closed his nose with one hand and turned his burning eyes towards the source of the voice.

The man who had spoken was a tall, handsome man with cold eyes and proud features. He had an air of haughty sophistication about him and spoke in icy, cultured tones. His long hair was a deep blue, so Ash assumed that it was dyed.

"My name is Executive Pierce." The man said as he walked up next to the muk. "Although I must say that your pokemon are most impressive, they couldn't hope to defeat my muk. Certainly not in their pitiful forms."

Nidoran and Charmander growled while Bulbasaur stayed silent. Ash gritted his teeth and fought back the urge to lunge at Pierce.

"Hand over your pokeballs or we will kill your pokemon." Pierce continued, delivering his ultimatum. "It would be quite the shame to waste such fine specimens of their breeds, particularly when two of them are quite rare."

The group was too petrified to resist the two Rockets as they came up and pried the pokeballs from their hands. Ash was grateful that he had hidden Plume's ball, as the Rockets didn't thoroughly search the group.

Nidoran shot a regretful look at Ash before one of the Rockets returned him to his pokeball. Ash's throat and eyes burnt as he realized that he might never see his friend again. The thought that he might be killed by the ruthless group never even crossed his mind.

"Thank you very much for your cooperation." Pierce said condescendingly. He motioned for the other two Rockets to lead the group behind him. The muk gave a horrific mockery of a grin at the children as they were roughly pushed behind Pierce as he briskly walked down the tunnel.

"Your pokemon will not be returned to you. They are my, ah, organization's now, although you will be freed when our operation here is over. We have no interest in detaining children."

"Why don't you just let us go right now?" Jonathan asked nervously, his normally jovial voice high with fear. "It's not like we could do anything without pokemon."

Pierce smiled humorlessly as they were led into a large cavern. Dozens of wild pokemon of all sorts – geodude, clefairy, paras, zubat, and golbat were the most common of the breeds - were in cages far too small for them and were making a racket.

Twenty Rockets were injecting something into pokemon – these seemed to be trained, since they were much quieter and seemed to be aiming much more precise attacks at the Rockets than the random violent outbursts of the wild pokemon – that Ash assumed to be some sort of anesthetic since the pokemon went limp afterward.

Pierce seemed annoyed by the racket and pulled out some sort of remote from his pocket. He had a smile on his face as he pressed one of the numerous buttons on it. All of the pokemon cried out in pain as their cages sent thousands of volts through their bodies. Many of them were knocked unconscious. All were silent.

"Now that we can be civilized, I will give you several options that will decide your fate." Pierce began; completely unfazed by the torture he had just put nearly a hundred creatures through. "You can put up some sort of futile resistance. That unwise course of action will result in your deaths, or at least permanent maiming."

Amelia squeaked in fear. Ash paled even further and his hands started shaking. Pierce just smiled again.

"Did you think that we would spare you because you are children?" He said, shaking his head at their foolishness. "We have eliminated quite a few of the older trainers that have resisted us already. However, that would be a waste. Your second option is to be quiet and complacent. That will result in your release. Of course, there is a third option, one that will allow you to ascend to greatness and fight for the greater good of all."

Pierce seemed to have a fire in his eyes now, and his words were almost maniacal in their conviction. It was a far cry from the cold, sophisticated man from before.

"You are each capable trainers." The man said softly. "Your pokemon were quite powerful for such weak forms and could only grow more powerful in time. And there is a way to get them back, you know. You," he said, pointing to Jonathan, "could have your Charmander back. You," he repeated, pointing to Amelia, "could have your Bulbasaur back. And you," he concluded, pointing at Ash, "could have your Nidoran back. All that I ask is that you join us."

All three of them blanched and couldn't hide their disgust. Pierce frowned – the strongest expression Ash had seen him use so far – and began speaking again.

"I understand your concerns." The man began softly. "You likely believe the unfortunate misconceptions of the masses that we are," Pierce's face twisted in revulsion, although Ash got the feeling that it was all an act, "_criminals_." The man spat out. "But we are so far beyond their judgments. We are making a better world for all! Are humans not the most intelligent and resourceful creatures on this planet? Are we not deserving of complete mastery of this world? Shortsighted men claim us to be criminals, but they cannot see that we are fighting for a better future, a future in which the monsters that walk the earth are under humanity's control and no longer pose a threat! Is that not a goal that you would desire to attain?"

There was silence for a brief moment after Pierce's speech. Jonathan broke the silence in his blunt manner, his disgust and annoyance overriding any semblance of self-preservation.

"Hell no!" Jonathan said. "Not if it means that I'll be as stupid as you, you psychotic jackass."

Ash hid back a groan at Jonathan's retort. He had the same idea, but that didn't mean he was going to voice it. They were all going to die now.

Pierce's face drained of blood and his green eyes blazed with self-righteous indignation.

"How dare you speak to me that way." He hissed, storming towards Jonathan before thinking better of it. "I offer you life and a chance to unlock your true potential, and you dare to disrespect me? I have done things that you cannot even dream of, thing so great that they will soon be recorded in the annals of history forever. Unfortunately," he said, his rage morphing into cold satisfaction, "you and your friends' deaths will not be amongst those records. Muk, kill them. Painfully."

The group tried to run away, but the muk was upon them in a second. Its heavy, disgusting body completely covered them and Ash thought he would pass out from the horrible smell. Ash began to cry out in pain as he felt the toxic body begin to mold around him in an attempt to melt him down into the muk's body, and suddenly everything went black.

X

His eyes snapped open and the memories of the muk's thick, squishy body covering him with its poisonous burn flashed to the forefront of his mind. Ash quickly pushed himself up in a panic and searched for the muk or Pierce.

Instead of the terrifying Rocket Executive or the muk that had almost killed him he was treated to a sight that was quite possibly worse. He was in a cave that appeared to have been transformed into a makeshift hospital. Several unconscious pokemon – most appearing to be the poison types favored by the Rockets, although a sedated growlithe was also there – were being tended to by a Nurse Joy and his friends were laid out on small cots. His friends seemed to be awakening as well. None of those things were what he was paying attention to.

A gigantic steel creature with a lighter, silvery x across its face stared at them with bright red eyes. It looked as though it were taller than Ash and was made up of a metallic blue metal. Four powerful, molded legs with clawed "feet" kept it on the ground.

Ash stared at it in fear, afraid of the powerful creature. Suddenly, he heard a strong, confident voice coming from on top of the creature. He looked up and saw a man – no older than twenty-five – with messy, silvery hair slide off of the gigantic pokemon's "head". The man wore a strange looking suit that seemed to give him good mobility and had strange purple lines on the front.

"Hello." The man said calmly and in a friendly manner, "I'm Steven Stone."

He pushed himself up on weak, trembling limbs. The slight burn of the muk's poisonous body was still there, but its strength had greatly diminished and it was now little more than an uncomfortable tingle. Ash saw that the others were doing the same.

"Easy there." Steven said calmly. "You've had quite the experience."

"Where am I?" Ash choked out through his dry throat. Steven didn't answer for a moment, instead walking over to a small, rolling table next to Ash's bed and grabbing a water bottle off of it. He handed it over to Ash – who greedily began to drink from it – and began to explain.

"You're in the same cavern that the Rocket's were operating in." The man began, taking a seat on one of his unmoving pokemon's powerful legs. "A group of League officials and I were investigating the Rockets and took action when we saw the muk attacking you. You and your friends were knocked unconscious by the muk, but my friend here," he said, patting the monstrous pokemon's metallic leg, "threw it off before it could cause any further harm. After that I had you and your friends pulled out of the battle before you could be hurt."

"Thanks." Ash mumbled. Suddenly he remembered that Pierce had taken his pokeballs. "Wait! Where are my pokemon?"

"Calm down." Steven said soothingly. "We found your pidgeotto's ball in your jacket pocket. It's on that table. What other pokemon did you and your friends have? We're still trying to identify their owners."

Ash sighed in relief and collapsed back down, his arms unable to support his weight any longer. He struggled to pull himself up so that he could speak to Steven.

"I had a Nidoran. Amelia had a Bulbasaur and Rattata. Jonathan had a Charmander and Rhyhorn."

Steven nodded and had a look of concentration on his face. "I know they found a Nidoran as well as a Bulbasaur, Charmander and Rhyhorn. No Rattata though. Did your friend manage to hide the pokeball?"

"Maybe." Ash replied, a frown on his face. "I wasn't able to keep an eye on her though."

"Don't worry about it." Steven said. "No one should have to be prepared for this. All of you did well. The Rockets that you fought at the beginning told us that you were skilled."

"Not really." Ash replied, blushing a little. To distract himself from the curious eyes of Steven he turned to the table and grabbed Plume's pokeball, holding it tightly. He never wanted to let it go again. "I was useless. It was Nidoran that did everything."

"Don't sell yourself short, Ash." The man told him. "You couldn't have done much. The fact that you raised your pokemon to be strong enough to defeat Rocket pokemon with barely a scratch on them speaks volumes to your skill. Particularly since you've only been training for a few weeks."

Ash blushed again at the praise, but had a question.

"How did you know how long I've been training. Or my name?"

"Jonathan," Steven began, nodding at the unconscious boy, "has already woken up and told us what happened. Plus we examined your pokedex. It serves as an ID."

"Oh. Will you need to ask me any questions?" Ash questioned. Steven nodded, his face growing slightly hard for a moment before it relaxed.

"Just one. What did the leader of these Rockets call himself?"

"He said he was an Executive." Ash said with a furrowed brow as he tried to remember the minutes before the muk had enveloped them in its shapeless body. "But his name was Pierce."

"Thank you." Steven said before standing up. Ash thought he could see the beginnings of a scowl on the man's face. "I'll leave you to rest. Nurse Joy," he said, attracting the redhead's attention, "will give you a final examination and if you're good to go you'll be cleared for travel."

With that the man walked out of the room, his gigantic pokemon levitating up and following him. Ash stared after him for a few moments before turning his attention to Nurse Joy, who approached him with a smile. What he didn't miss was the rather large syringe that she had in her hand. It was filled with a pale purple, watery liquid.

"Why do you have that?" He asked cautiously. Nurse Joy glanced at the syringe for a moment before returning her eyes to him.

"Oh, don't worry about that." She said sweetly. "It'll just clear away any toxins left by the muk. It won't hurt very much."

Nurse Joy sighed when he continued to stare at the syringe in horror.

"Why are they all afraid of needles." She muttered. "It's not that big." Nurse Joy looked him in the eyes and began talking in a louder, persuasive voice. "Listen, if you don't take this quickly you might have to go to a hospital. I'm sure that would set you back a long way on your journey."

Ash reluctantly nodded, keeping his eyes on the needle. He had had to have shots a few weeks before starting his journey in order to keep him from getting sick – whether from natural causes like bacteria in the water or from some of the more common poison types in the region – and they had _hurt_. But he would rather go through a bit of temporary pain than have to wait around in a hospital for a week.

The Nurse Joy smiled – rather sadistically, Ash thought – and pulled out some sort of stretchy looking material and tied it around his arm, causing one of his veins to protrude from his skin. She took a moment to examine the skin and determine the best area to inject. Ash hissed in pain as she slid the cold needle under his skin, although he noted that it wasn't nearly as painful as the last shots he'd had.

Whatever liquid was inside the syringe was cold as it entered his bloodstream. Ash unconsciously shivered for a second as it flooded into his blood, but soon it was over and Nurse Joy smoothly removed the needle. She quickly placed a small bandage over the injection site before stepping back.

"Was that really so bad?" She asked with a smirk. Ash rolled his eyes, although he yawned before he answered. He seemed to be very tired all of a sudden.

"No." He mumbled nearly incoherently before collapsing back onto his cot. The world was spinning and was beginning to blacken and he was tired enough to have run a marathon. "What's happening?"

"Don't worry." Nurse Joy said soothingly. "It's just to put you asleep while I perform a few other tests. When you wake up you'll be free to leave."

That was all Ash heard before he fell into unconsciousness.

XX

"Are you guys ready?" Ash asked Jonathan and Amelia as he swung his backpack on. They had been unconscious for nearly a day while Nurse Joy gave them a cocktail of drugs that would temporarily boost their immune systems and remove the last traces of the muk's toxins from their bodies. Apparently they had all been affected much worse than previously believed, although they were completely fine now.

They had been given their pokeballs back when they had finally awoken. Ash had nearly cried when he got Nidoran's ball back, realizing that it was just good fortune that the Rockets hadn't instantly transported his ball to wherever their headquarters were.

"Let's get going." Jonathan replied from his position near the exit. He stood out of the way of the League officials as they went about their business, although he exchanged friendly greetings with most of them. "I'm tired of this mountain."

Ash and Amelia nodded in concurrence and began to walk out. They had already told Nurse Joy that they were leaving and they didn't want to stay here any longer. Of all of them, Ash wanted to get to Cerulean City the most. He had realized that he hadn't called his mother at all, too enraptured with travelling and the wonders of the world he was experiencing to even think about something as mundane as his mother.

He gritted his teeth at how much of a jerk he had been. His mom was probably worried sick, and would probably be pretty mad at him as well. Not that he didn't deserve it, he bitterly reflected as he walked out into the bright sunlight.

As they all stopped for a moment to squint and let their eyes get adjusted to the sunlight, they heard someone calling out, "Wait!" from behind them. The group turned around curiously and despite their state of near blindness, they were able to make out the tall form of Steven.

They stopped and watched as the man hurriedly jogged up to them. His suit – Ash wasn't sure how it hadn't gotten even a smidgen of dirt on it – didn't seem to inhibit his movement in the least.

"I'm sorry for holding you up like this," Steven apologized as he came to a stop, "but I just heard that you were about to leave."

"What do you want?" Amelia asked hoarsely. She had gotten the worst of the muk's toxins and was still slightly weak, although she was fit for travel.

"I realized that there might be groups of Team Rocket waiting in ambush." Steven explained. "The League has everything under control in there, so I figured that I wouldn't be of any use to them. You are all still vulnerable and I know that the Rockets will be trying to regain their losses."

"Oh." Amelia said weakly. "Thanks."

Steven just nodded and looked to the other two members of the group. They grinned and welcomed him along. Both realized that Steven was an incredibly strong trainer and welcomed the opportunity to pick up any tips.

With that they began to walk down the unkempt path that would take them to Cerulean City within three or four days.

XX

They all sat around their campfire, huddling around the warmth. A cold front had come in while the group had been recovering in Mt. Moon and it had added a new degree of difficulty to travelling.

Jonathan was holding onto Charmander and taking in the fire type's body heat. He was in the best situation out of the trio. Ash was stubbornly refusing to admit that he was cold and sat silently about a foot away from the fire. Amelia was so close to the fire that Ash thought she would burst into flame and looked like she was turning blue.

Steven was the only one that seemed perfectly fine. He seemed to be used to this sort of weather, as he was lazily reclining against a tree a few feet away from the fire and amiably chatting with the trio in an attempt to distract them from the icy air and cutting wind.

"So, Jonathan," he began, his voice barely heard over the howling wind, "what are your goals? I know you've just started out, but surely you have something you want to achieve."

Jonathan yawned and pulled himself up. "Hey, Charmander, go over and help Amelia out. She looked like she's freezing." Amelia coughed out her thanks as the lizard wrapped around her, bringing warmth to her cold body.

"Sorry." Jonathan said to Steven. "Anyways, I just want to get some experience in before I set any goals. I want to know if I'm any good or not before I try to achieve anything. I'd rather not get disappointed if I fail."

"I suppose that makes sense." Steven said. Ash thought he heard an undertone of disappointment in his voice. "How about you, Amelia?"

"As long as I get to the Indigo Conference this year, I'm happy." She said through chattering teeth. "But I want to win the Indigo League one day. My sister and parents placed pretty high in it, but none of them ever managed to win."

"How high did they place?" Steven asked interestedly, leaning forward. Ash listened curiously as well. He knew that Jessica was a good trainer, but he didn't know _how_ good. Amelia grinned proudly – despite being battered by the weather – and replied.

"My parents both got into the top eight and my sister made it to the top four." She stated. "They only tried once, but I'm going to try as long as it takes to win."

The silver-haired man nodded. "Your persistence is admirable. I hope you succeed. What are your goals, Ash?"

Ash felt a sudden reluctance to divulge his dream. He didn't have any problem telling it to his friends, but they were just newbie trainers like him. They didn't know how skilled any of the other two would become or how far they would rise.

But Steven obviously wasn't a new trainer. He practically radiated quiet self-confidence and had an aura of authority that Ash had only encountered in Professor Oak before. Besides, anyone capable of controlling that monster of a pokemon that he had seen Steven riding around had to be powerful. And, even barring all of that, Ash had the strange feeling that he had seen Steven before.

Despite his doubts, Ash hesitantly spoke up.

"I want to be a Pokemon Master." He said, feeling slightly embarrassed just to admit it. Hopefully Steven wasn't able to see his light blush in the dark.

"That's quite the goal." Steven commented lightly. Ash was just glad that the man didn't laugh at him. He didn't even sound skeptical, just curious. "How are you going to accomplish it? Are you going to become a master of a certain type, or are you going to take one of the other routes? Any of the ways takes at the very least a decade, and becoming a true Pokemon Master is a lifelong mission."

"Well," Ash began, losing some of his nervousness, "I want to become one. But I don't want to master a single type of pokemon. That wouldn't give me a good enough variety to take any of the other routes."

"That's not true." Jonathan interjected from his spot by the fire. "Most of the Elite Fours and Champions are a master of a single type. And they're all Masters by default. I mean, Lance hasn't even had a challenger come close to beating him in years and those two Hoenn Champions – Wallace and that steel guy – are all Masters of a single type."

"I don't think that I would do good without any variety." Ash admitted. Even as he spoke he attempted to remember the name of the Hoenn Champion that abdicated his position about a year ago. "Anyone can win against me if they have a type adv— wait, you're Champion Steven! I watched your match against Wallace before you left Hoenn."

"Wait, what!" Jonathan shouted as he pulled himself up and stared at Steven. The man had a silly grin on his face as the group realized his identity. "You mean – what – really?" He finished weakly.

"Yes, I'm the steel guy." Steven said, still grinning. "I'm surprised you recognized me. Hoenn is pretty far away."

Jonathan's jaw dropped. "Are you kidding?" He cried. "We watch all the Champion battles!"

The conversation went on like that for a time. Jonathan seemed to be determined to ask everything he could possibly think of, and Ash wasn't too far behind. Amelia was the only one who was quiet. She had a small frown on her face and seemed to be thinking.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of unrelenting questions by the two boys, she broke into the conversation.

"If you're the Champion of Hoenn, why are you here?" She asked. "Shouldn't you be at home?"

"Former Champion of Hoenn." Steven corrected. He seemed glad to have a break from the curious boys. "I got tired of being the Champion. It just…wasn't for me. Instead I decided to explore new areas and look for rare stones."

"But…but you were Champion." Ash said weakly, clearly not understanding why anyone would want to leave such a prestigious position. "That's what every trainer dreams of."

"Dreams aren't always as exciting as you'd think." Steven said lightly. "Listen, you're all going to go somewhere. Maybe one of you will even become Champion. You'll understand then. But for now," he smiled, "does anyone want some tips?"

All of them grinned excitedly and began to pepper the Champion with questions. It was a long time before they finally went to bed, leaving Metagross – Steven had told a curious Amelia its name and some basic information about it – as the guard.

XX

It wasn't until the next day that Amelia questioned Steven again. She wasn't quite as star struck as the boys, although she was still amazed that they had a Champion travelling with them. Amelia just couldn't believe that he had been at Mt. Moon right when they had needed help the most.

So when they stopped to take a break – all of them were tired from the aftereffects of the muk's toxins, although Ash constantly forcing them to stop for battles with other wandering trainers exhausted them as well – and even Ash and Jonathan were too tired to pester the Champion with questions, she took her chance.

"There has to be another reason why you came to Mt. Moon." Amelia said as they sat at one of the numerous tables the League had set up on the routes throughout Kanto. "I mean, wouldn't all of the rare stones be taken by now?"

"You're right." Steven admitted as he leaned back in his chair. "Most of the stones are gone, but I was investigating another stone from some of the old folk tales around here. Tell me," he said as he leaned forward and clasped his hands together on the table. "Have any of you heard about the Moon Stone?"

"I've heard about moon stones." Jonathan said. "They're supposed to be really rare though."

"Oh, they are." Steven responded. "They're the rarest ones of all. Their rarity is why there aren't many nidoking wandering around." He seemed to direct this at Ash, who was idly scratching an exhausted Nidoran behind the ears. Ash perked up and listened closer. "But they aren't what I'm talking about. I'm talking about THE Moon Stone."

"What's the difference?" Ash asked. Jonathan and Amelia nodded their agreement.

"Well, it's supposed to be a gigantic moon stone." Steven began. "People used to worship it, at least according to this weird scientist I found down there. He thought that the clefairy used it as a space ship."

None of the group had a response to something that stupid. Steven laughed.

"That's what I thought. Anyways, I was trying to find it when I noticed that all of the wild pokemon were gone and I was getting a supersonic migraine." Steven grimaced at the memory. "Lance warned me of Team Rocket, so I made sure to call the League once I'd located them. By the time we were ready you three were getting attacked by that muk."

"Oh." Amelia said. She felt rather foolish for being so suspicious. The group was quiet for a while before Steven stood up.

"I think we've been sitting around long enough. Let's get going. Cerulean is only a few days away."

The group eagerly nodded and followed the Champion. They were all eager to reach Cerulean City. That was where their journey would truly begin.

XXX

"Sorry, but I have to go." Steven said to the group. He had just told them his plans – to go back to Mt. Moon to find the Moon Stone and then explore Kanto some more – but they didn't want him to go. The Champion was awesome in every possible way, and he'd taught them things about training and pokemon in general that would have taken them months to learn on their own.

"Couldn't you stay until we leave?" Jonathan pleaded desperately. He was the one most enthralled with Steven – the man was practically his idol now.

"Sorry." Steven repeated. "But I'm sure we'll meet again. All three of you are going places – I know it. Hopefully one of you will be ready for a battle by the time I see you. Good luck."

"Thanks." They said in unison, each practically glowing at the praise he'd given them. Ash, of course, was more interested in the possibility of battling Steven. That would be incredible!

"I'll see you all again one day." Steven promised before releasing Metagross. The gigantic creature allowed Steven to climb up on top of it before folding its legs to its chest and levitating down the road at an incredible speed. They watched them leave for a second before turning to each other.

They were at the gates of Cerulean City. Quite a few curious onlookers had gathered when Steven had released Metagross, but they were already walking away. Ash grinned as he looked at his friends.

"What are we waiting for? Let's get to the Pokemon Center!"

The group nodded and quickly found a map of the city. Although they were slightly intimidated by its size – this city was much larger than Pewter and Viridian, and positively dwarfed Pallet Town – they adapted to it rather quickly and reached the Center within half an hour.

It only took a minute to check in thanks to the Center being rather deserted, but once in they quickly went to their rooms and cleaned up, taking advantage of the wonderful showers. All of them had practically forgotten how wonderful it felt to be clean, although their empty stomachs brought them down to the small cafeteria the Center possessed.

Since there were only a few other trainers in it – Ash only counted three others there – they were free to be as loud as they wanted. They were aware of a few annoyed glances being sent their way by the staff and other trainers, but they were far too glad to finally be in civilization again to worry about that.

"So who gets to challenge them first?" Amelia asked as she devoured the hot food they had been given. All of them had abandoned any sense of propriety when they had seen the wonderful aroma and sight of the food.

"I've already had my turn." Ash said, not even looking up from his massive plate as he tore into his noodles. "One of you can go first."

"Thanks." Amelia and Jonathan said in unison before glaring at each other.

"Rock-paper-scissors?" Amelia asked confidently. Jonathan glared back and nodded.

In the end, Jonathan ended up becoming the one who battled the Sensational Sisters first. He seemed rather pleased about this for some reason that Ash couldn't quite fathom and had a silly grin on his face as they ventured to the gym.

Much like Pewter, the gym was only a few minutes away from the Center. Unlike Pewter, however, the gym was practically bursting with people – most of them teenage boys and young adults, Ash noted. Very few seemed to be actual trainers, so Ash assumed that they were just here for one of the Sisters' shows.

As they walked in a teenage girl in a uniform walked up to them, pushing through the crowd with ease.

"Are you here for the show?" She shouted, breaking above the clamoring and cheers of the large crowd.

"Gym." Ash and Amelia told her. Jonathan, however, seemed to be more excited about the show.

"Sorry." The girl said. "But the gym's closed right now. You can come back after the show. It's on until four."

Ash and Amelia groaned in disappointment. That meant that they had to wait at least three hours before coming back. Jonathan seemed fine, however.

"How much is a ticket?" He asked eagerly. The girl smiled at him.

"Just fifty poke." She replied. Jonathan grinned and began to dig around in his pockets. In just a few moments he had pulled out a few wads of cash and handed them over to the girl. "There are still plenty of seats available. Just walk in and one of the attendants will bring you in."

"You guys go on." Jonathan said as he was led away. "I'll meet you guys at the Pokemon Center later."

As he walked away and disappeared into the thick crowds Amelia turned her head to look at the dumbfounded Ash.

"…What just happened?"

Ash just helplessly shook his head. "I guess we should come back later. We probably can't find Jonathan even if we did want to buy tickets."

Amelia shrugged. "Let's get going then. Maybe we can find out where some good pokemon are. I hear Cerulean has some pretty powerful ones nearby."

XX

They were rather tired by the time they returned to the gym. The duo had spent most of the day at a nearby café where trainers tended to congregate and learned a lot about the area around Cerulean. Both had already bought a small map and marked out likely areas for powerful pokemon to stay at and were eager to search around.

Cerulean City was the home of the water gym for a reason. It was surrounded by rivers, lakes, and ponds that held massive amounts of water pokemon. Most were weak – magikarp, golden, and krabby were the most common – but they were quite good for beginning trainers to raise. Aside from the legions of weaker pokemon that made the area their home, there were also formidably creatures such as kingler, seaking, staryu and even the monstrously powerful gyarados. Ash just wanted one of them to diversify his team.

But now they were back at the gym. It was mostly empty, save for a few stragglers from the performance that were standing around and chatting to each other. They searched for Jonathan, but couldn't find him. Ash and Amelia assumed that their friend had decided to go ahead and challenge the Sisters and followed a few signs that brought them to a massive room dominated by a swimming pool that was probably larger than some villages. A few strips of land ran through it, allowing non-water pokemon to have a chance.

As they walked in, curiously glancing around and searching for any possible advantages in their upcoming gym battles, Ash spotted Jonathan walking over to them with a proud grin on his face. Three tall – and beautiful, Ash noticed, causing him to blush in embarrassment – teenage girls in swimsuits were circling around the edge of the pool and going to the opposite side.

"You guys got here just in time!" Jonathan shouted excitedly as he neared them. "My battles just about to start. I was about to send you a message over the pokedex."

"We can send messages through our pokedex?" Ash asked. He shook his head and ignored whatever answer his friend was about to give to him. "Nevermind. How are you going to battle them? You don't have anything that'll be really effective against a water gym."

"Well," Jonathan said as he nervously glanced over his shoulder, staring at the massive pool, "I had been planning on having Charmander turn the water into steam, but I don't think that'll work too well anymore. I'm just going to keep them on the land and try and keep on the defensive."

"Good luck." Amelia said before giving him a light smack on the head. "And that's for leaving us to go see that stupid show. Make sure to win."

Jonathan gave a shaky grin and waved them away. After the duo had taken their place in the observer's station – a raised platform with thick, clear walls that would protect them from most stray attacks – he took his place on the challenger's platform. The Sister that was facing him – the only one with a natural hair color, a rich, golden blonde – took her position and waved for the referee to explain the rules.

Ash didn't really pay attention to the referee. He knew it would just be the standard rules – as many pokemon as the challenger had against the same amount of gym pokemon, and they would go until one of the opponents' pokemon were all knocked out or one of them forfeited.

Both of the friends were tense as the Sister sent out a large seel. It didn't look like much of a battler, but all of them knew that appearances could be deceiving. Behind the happy grin on the seel's face could lay a hardened veteran of many battles. The seel happily leapt into the water and began swimming in a small circle to warm up.

Jonathan didn't seem nervous at all, although Ash knew he had to be. He released Charmander, who lazily got up from his curled position and looked around his surroundings. Ash had to hold back a snort as the Charmander realized that it was surrounded by water and began to glare at Jonathan. The trainer merely shrugged guiltily and pointed at the seel, who had jumped out of the water and was now happily looking at Charmander with its tongue lolling out of its mouth.

Charmander's normally lazy and sleepy personality vanished as he saw his opponent. Even from the distance they were at Ash could see the small lizard's tail flare up and his body tense up. The tension in the moments before the battle began was thick.

When the referee finally called out for them to begin, the seel quickly followed a short whistle from its trainer and dove into the water. Jonathan called out for Charmander to run out to the center of the pool, where a large island provided more protection.

As the lizard slowly shuffled towards the island, the seel suddenly burst out of the water near it, startling the poor Charmander. Ash winced as the small creature slammed into Charmander's side with its sharp horn before leaping back into the water. He wasn't sure if Jonathan could win this one.

"Smokescreen." Jonathan shouted from his platform. Charmander heard and shook off the surprise attack. Smoke poured from its wide jaws and began to hide him from view. Some of the smoke seemed to settle on the water's surface and stain it a dark grey.

Seel didn't attack for another minute. It was only when Charmander had finally run out of the smoke that obscured him from view and the Sister gave a sharp whistle that it burst out of the water and splashed Charmander with a large wave of water.

As Charmander was distracted, the seel opened its mouth and fired a beam of multicolored energy that strongly reminded Ash of pictures of the aurora borealis that he had seen. He recognized it as an aurora beam and gave a sigh of relief when he realized that it probably wouldn't knock Charmander out.

Despite the attack's power – Ash knew that the seel had probably perfected the move – Charmander weathered it and listened to his trainer's frantic shouts to recover. Seel had taken advantage of the lizard's pain and was charging at him.

"Smokescreen!" Jonathan screamed from his position. He looked desperate as he realized that Charmander could be easily taken out by another attack.

Fortunately for them, Charmander reacted quickly enough to blast copious amounts of pungent smoke right into the charging seel's face. Ash saw the seel miss Charmander by nearly a foot before the two were obscured from his vision.

"Metal claw and slash!" Jonathan commanded desperately. Ash supposed that he was just giving Charmnder moves to use. There was no way he could actually see the brutal battle going on in the smoke.

Suddenly the Sister whistled sharply again, this one a different pitch than the others. Seel pulled itself out of the melee as soon as it was able, although Ash saw Charmander chasing and slashing at it with glowing claws. Most of them connected with the seel, slowing it down and letting Charmander get a few more good hits in.

Ash was amazed that Jonathan had actually managed to do that much damage. He'd honestly expected a complete domination by the Sister, but his friend had actually managed to pull out a small victory. The seel couldn't take too much more damage after the beating it had just taken. Of course, the victory hadn't come without a cost. Charmander was limping from something and had discolored areas all over him.

The Sister seemed to realize that seel wouldn't be able to escape if Charmander was allowed to continue his brutal attacks and whistled again, this time at a very low pitch. Everyone was surprised when seel turned around and opened its small mouth, releasing yet another aurora beam directly into Charmander's chest.

Amazingly enough, the lizard remained standing, although it looked like anymore damage would knock him out. Jonathan realized that as well and quickly took advantage of Charmander's last reserves of strength.

"Slash!"

Charmander's tail blazed in one last show of defiance as he ran at seel and slashed at it with glowing claws. Seel cried out in pain as the attack impacted, although it was cut short as the tired creature fainted.

There was silence for a moment from all sides of the arena. Even Jonathan didn't believe he had managed to win that round.

A moment later Ash and Amelia burst into cheers and were loud enough that Jonathan turned towards them and gave them a thumbs up. His attention was pulled back to the battle when the referee announced that the battle would be starting up again.

Charmander didn't seem impressed when the Sisters sent out a small, pink heart-shaped pokemon. Ash had never seen it before, which was quite surprising considering how many foreign battles he watched. He aimed the pokedex at it, but nothing came up except a screen saying, "Scanned pokemon not found in regional database. National Pokedex upgrade required. Please see your pokedex supplier for more information."

Ash frowned and put the pokedex away. Maybe Professor Oak could get him that upgrade. He put the matter out of his mind and focused on the match.

The pink pokemon was already in the pool and proved to be exceptionally fast. Charmander was halfheartedly blasting the surface of the water with embers, but none of them even came close to hitting the water type. Its attacks got weaker and weaker as the pokemon drew nearer.

"Luverin, finish it off!" The Sister shouted from her platform. A moment later the pokemon leapt out of the water by Charmander and shot a water gun at Charmander. It impacted square in the lizard's chest and knocked it unconscious.

He could see Jonathan frowning as he returned Charmander. A second later Rhyhorn's pokeball landed out on the strip of land and released the stone creature, who grunted as it saw the water surrounding it. When the match was continued, it was still until it heard the Sister's whistle.

For some reason the whistle caused it to panic and frantically search the area despite Jonathan's attempts to calm it.

"Rhyhorn!" Jonathan shouted. "Calm down. Nothing's going to hurt you."

It slowed down in its search, but Rhyhorn continued to sniff at the ground. Suddenly, Luverin erupted out of the water next to Rhyhorn and shot a water gun at the scared creature. Ash and Amelia groaned as the pokemon went berserk and charged straight at the area where Luverin had attacked it from.

Jonathan never even had a chance to calm his pokemon before Rhyhorn fell into the water. Ash and Amelia shouted in fear the moment they saw it, and Jonathan looked terrified as he recalled Rhyhorn just a second after it sunk into the water.

"Challenger Jonathan forfeits the match!" The referee cried. Ash and Amelia groaned and stood up. They both felt awful for Jonathan – he had managed to win a battle with Charmander, but victory was torn from him in the second half of the match before he even had a chance.

Their friend was waiting for them by the time they had left their box. He was morosely staring at his pokeball with a blank expression, although he didn't seem to be angry. Ash wasn't quite sure how to approach him – he knew that Jonathan didn't take losing very well, a trait that he shared.

Fortunately, Amelia was more adept with these matters. She walked up to him and gave him a hug. Jonathan gave her a small smile and returned it.

"You did good. A lot better than most people would have done."

"I know." He mumbled. "But I thought I was actually going to win after Charmander did so good. I guess I'll just have to train some more. He'll do even better when he evolves."

Ash nodded, although he was too uncomfortable with the situation to say anything. He wasn't very good at comforting people, plus the interaction between Jonathan and Amelia reminded him just how much of an outsider he was in the group.

His thoughts were interrupted when the Sisters walked up. The blonde one that Jonathan had just battled was in the lead. She seemed rather happy.

"That was, like, totally incredible!" She said in congratulations when the Sisters grew near. Jonathan blushed slightly.

"I still lost." He muttered.

"That doesn't matter at all!" The Sister said. "You still put up a better fight than most people would have. So I'm giving you the Cascade Badge."

Jonathan looked up hopefully, although he had a bit of confusion mixed in. "Wait, what? You're giving me the badge?"

"Of course!" The Sister said cheerfully. "It's not like you actually have to win to get the badge. The gym leader just has to think you deserve it. And I think you deserve the badge."

His friend grinned as the Sister pulled out a small, metallic case with the Cerulean insignia inscribed upon it and opened it, revealing several rows of gleaming badges shaped like a rain drop. The Sister carefully withdrew one of the badges and handed it to Jonathan, who proudly took it in his hand.

"There you go." The Sister exclaimed. She suddenly seemed to notice Ash and Amelia. "Oh, are you here to challenge us too?"

"Yeah." They said in unison. For some reason the Sisters frowned, although it was quickly wiped away and replaced with their former cheerfulness.

"Both of you can have a badge too. Our pokemon are pretty tired out from our show and won't be ready to battle for a few days. The only one left is Luverin."

Ash was surprised, but shrugged it off. Even if he'd been looking forward to battling the Sensational Sisters, it didn't really bother him that he'd be getting the badge for free. A badge was a badge, after all.

Amelia, however, was more scrupulous than he was.

"Could I just fight you in a one-on-one battle?" She asked the lead sister. "Luverin only battled for a minute or so and didn't take any damage. It should be fine."

"He." The Sister corrected before sighing. "Fine. Get up on the platform."

Amelia nodded and waved back to her friends as she moved up to the platform. Jonathan and Ash waved back and called out, "Good luck!" before moving back into the observation platform.

A few minutes later everything was ready. Amelia had already released her choice – Bulbasaur, who was eager to fight after being cooped up in his pokeball for so long – and the Sister – or Daisy, as Ash had learned from a swooning Jonathan – had released Luverin. They were just waiting on the referee.

Mere seconds later the referee announced the rules and sounded her whistle. Daisy quickly blasted on her own whistle, which caused Luverin to dive into the water.

"Get in the middle of that island and keep your vines out!" Amelia shouted. "Try to get the fish onto land if you can."

Bulbasaur grunted in understanding and extended its powerful vines. He warily glanced around the pool in preparation for Luverin's attack. Ash and Jonathan tried to find the pink blur that would give Luverin's location away but found nothing. It was probably deep under the water.

Suddenly the pink pokemon burst from the water and shot a high powered jet of water at Bulbasaur. It did little damage to the grass type. Bulbasaur reacted quickly and wrapped its vines around Luverin with supernatural speed.

"Smash it on the ground." Amelia ordered. Bulbasaur gladly complied and repeatedly slammed the helpless pokemon against the ground. Despite Luverin's frantic squirming and bites, Bulbasaur refused to let it escape and quickly knocked it out.

Ash and Jonathan were slightly disturbed by the tactic Amelia had used, but put it to the back of their minds as they went down to congratulate her. Daisy sighed and returned Luverin before walking over to them with her sisters.

"Good job!" Jonathan said as he gave her a high five. Ash nodded in agreement with a smile on his face.

"Here's the badge." Daisy said from behind them. Amelia grinned widely and eagerly took the shining rain drop from the older teen's hand. The Sister looked at Ash. "By the way, unless you want to wait a few days you can have the badge now."

"Sounds good to me." Ash replied as he began to take the badge from her hand. Suddenly his hand was batted away by the referee. He looked up in annoyance.

Now that he actually got a good look at the referee – he didn't bother to before, other than a quick glance – he was able to recognize her as the girl that he'd beaten in the first few days of his journey. Her eyes displayed just as much annoyance as he felt and her hand was on a pokeball.

"Aren't you that girl that I beat my first day as a trainer?" Ash said, feigning stupidity. Maybe he could rile her up. If she wanted to battle him then he could distract her enough to where she made stupid mistakes.

The Sisters snickered as the referee blushed. Ash smirked as her face twisted in anger.

"Shut up!" She growled. "I'm challenging you to a pokemon battle. As a gym leader here, I don't think you're ready for the badge."

Ash stared at her in confusion. "But I already beat you. On my first day as a trainer."

"Shut up." She repeated. "I wasn't taking you seriously. Now let's go. Get up on the challenger's platform."

The trainer shrugged. He supposed that Plume could use the experience. Only Nidoran had been training very much over the last few days. Besides, it had been too long since Plume had stretched her wings.

Both of his friends wished him good luck before going back over to the observation platform. The Sensational Sisters groaned in annoyance and went with his friends. Ash expected that Jonathan wouldn't be paying attention to the battle.

One of the Sisters stayed behind in order to act as a referee. Ash placed a hand on Plume's pokeball as he stared intensely at his opponent, barely listening to the rules. He knew them by heart.

He only reacted when he heard the Sister yell out, "Begin!"

Plume screeched out a challenge as she erupted from the pokeball. Her chest was proudly puffed out and she spread out her wings in an expression of dominance. Ash smiled at Plume's antics, although he was more focused on his opponent.

The girl sent out a starmie. Ash supposed that it was just the evolved form of the staryu he'd faced in their last battle. He instantly began to analyze what he knew of starmie.

It could rapidly spin its back star in order to propel itself out of water and through air for a short period of time. He also knew that they had powerful psychic abilities and could fire weak energy beams from their jewel.

"It can shoot energy beams from its jewel and can fly out of the water!" Ash said to Plume. He figured that he didn't need to be shouting when Plume's sensitive ears could hear him just fine. Plume screeched out a challenge as she launched herself into the air with a single flap of her powerful wings.

"Starmie, use water gun and knock it out of the sky!" The redhead shouted. Ash noticed that she was actually having to talk to starmie instead of blowing on the whistle like the other Sisters. She was evidently less experienced than the other gym leaders.

"Dodge them." Ash ordered. Plume screeched in acceptance even as the water type began to fire powerful jets of water into the air. Fortunately for Ash and Plume the starmie seemed somewhat inexperienced when it came to attacking flying types and couldn't keep up with Plume's incredible speed and erratic movements.

The battle continued on like this for a while. Ash wanted to tire the starmie out before getting in close with a wing attack or another physical move – he knew they could learn psychic and a few other ranged attacks that could put Plume out of commission for the battle – and so far it seemed to be working. Starmie's attacks were starting to become weaker and less focused, which had the added bonus of frustrating his opponent.

Just a few moments before he was about to begin the next stage of the battle by allowing Plume to begin to cause actual damage, his opponent finally became frustrated enough to change her strategy.

"Starmie, use thunder wave to paralyze it!" She cried. Ash frowned at the move. He hoped that Plume would be fast enough to dodge it. Being paralyzed would end the battle if Plume fell into the water.

"Dodge it!" Ash shouted. Mere moments later the starmie shot a small burst of lightning out from its temporarily glowing jewel at Plume. Plume easily swerved out of the way of the attack and screeched in annoyance. The trainer noticed that starmie seemed to recoil from the shriek, which gave him an idea.

"Screech as loud as you can." He ordered. Plume followed his order quickly, which resulted in the starmie being temporarily distracted as it recoiled from the painful noise. "Gust."

"Get out of the way!" The redhead shouted frantically. Unfortunately for her, the starmie was still recovering from the screech when the powerful gale of air slammed into it, hurling it into the water. Ash groaned when he realized that he just gave his opponent an advantage. Starmie would be much more maneuverable in the water.

His opponent also seemed to realize this. "Use rain dance and follow it up with thunderbolt!" She said with a wide grin. Ash's face paled as he realized that this could very easily lose him the match. The added water would amplify the electric attack to ridiculous levels and would easily knock out Plume.

"Evade it. Keep low to the water." Ash said. He couldn't think of a way to get out of this without potentially harming Plume, but he realized that the thunderbolt would do a lot more damage than one of his desperate attempts at salvaging victory.

Plume soared through the air, ignoring the rain drops that were beginning to pepper her body. Ash knew that the rain dance wouldn't adversely affect her, although it might make flying a little bit more difficult. Her feathers were oily enough to keep the water from soaking them through.

The only way he could think of to avoid the thunderbolt was to keep it from ever happening. Starmie couldn't use thunderbolt underneath the water without knocking itself out, so he had to hit starmie hard enough to keep it from being able to complete the attack.

He got his chance soon enough. The starmie exploded out of the water and went high into the sky as its jewel began to glow and send small arcs of electricity ominously into the air. Ash wasted no time in giving Plume an order when he saw the starmie leap out of the pool.

"Quick attack!"

Plume didn't nod or screech in confirmation this time, instead following the order as quickly as possible. She disappeared from her position nearly fifty feet away from the starmie and nearly instantaneously reappeared into its side.

Ash dimly heard Jonathan and Amelia cheer for him as the starmie's attack was disrupted and it was knocked back onto the ground. Plume didn't seem to have taken much damage from the attack, so he felt safe in ordering her to continue the attack.

"Wing attack. Then use fly. Peck if it's still conscious."

Plume called out in confirmation as she launched herself at the knocked over starmie. As it began to pull itself up from the ground, urged on by its trainers desperate pleas, Plume slammed into it with glowing wings outspread. Starmie was thrown back to the ground and Plume launched herself up into the air in order to continue her attack.

"Get up, Starmie!" The redhead cried desperately. "Use swift and watergun!"

It never had the chance to follow its trainer's commands. Plume had fallen into a dive as its jewel began to glow and by the time the starmie was ready to attack Plume had reached it. Ash winced as the starmie was forced onto its back again. The starmie couldn't take much more damage.

Ash's thoughts proved to be correct when Plume finished off his string of commands. While Starmie pulled itself up with its dexterous arms the pidgeotto casually launched itself off of the ground and slammed its beak straight into the starmie's jewel.

The starmie couldn't take any more damage. Its cracked jewel began to lose color and vibrancy as it was knocked unconscious. Ash grinned widely and pumped his fist in triumph as he realized he won. Plume cried out in victory and fluttered over to his shoulder.

He nearly buckled against the bird's massive weight, but managed to hold himself up. Ash kept his grin as he stroked Plume's impressive crest.

"You did awesome." He whispered. Plume lightly pecked his hat in affection as Ash began to walk down from the platform. Daisy, Jonathan, and Amelia were already waiting for him. The trainer had a wide grin on his face as he saw Daisy holding up the Cascade Badge for him.

Before he could take it, Jonathan and Amelia walked over. Jonathan heavily clapped him on the back, sending him teetering. Plume glared at the shorter trainer, but Jonathan ignored her gaze.

"That was great!" He exclaimed loudly. "I didn't think you would be able to get out of that rain dance and thunderbolt combo."

"Yeah." Amelia grinned, pushing Jonathan out of the way. "I wouldn't have thought of using quick attack. I would have just used gust. We're going to have to battle soon."

Ash smiled and nodded before turning to Daisy. The other Sisters had seemingly vanished from the area. His opponent – whose name he still didn't know, he realized – was probably still circling around the gigantic pool.

"Good job." Daisy said with a smile. "Here's the Cascade Badge. By the way," she said to the entire group, "you should all come back when you get better. I want to see how good you get."

"Of course." Jonathan said with a grin. Ash suspected that he wouldn't just be coming back for the battle.

The trainer turned his thoughts away and took the badge from Daisy's hand. He looked at it curiously for a moment, memorizing the smooth curve of the metal, before placing it in his pocket. It could go in his badge case later.

He was distracted by the redhead walking up to him. Despite the short temper she had displayed in and before the battle, she seemed remarkably composed.

"Good job." She muttered before holding out her hand. "Look, I'm sorry about being a jerk earlier. My name's Misty."

"Ash." He responded as he shook her hand. The trainer wasn't really sure what to do. Both of them were saved from an awkward situation by Daisy, who smiled and motioned for her sister to follow her.

"Come on, runt. We've got to close down."

Misty shrugged and left. The trio looked at her oddly as she turned back.

"I'm going to beat you soon, Ash! Just you wait."

The group was quiet as the two gym leaders left. None of them were quite sure of what to make of the girl.

"Well, that was weird." Amelia muttered. "Anyways, let's go. We probably shouldn't be out after dark."

"Agreed." Jonathan said. Ash nodded and returned Plume to her ball with an apologetic nod. A few moments later they made their way out of the gym and to the Pokemon Center.

Ash was glad that they had gotten there early. It would give him a lot more time to make excuses and try to save himself from the verbal whiplash that would be sure to follow when he finally contacted his mother.

XX

"Five weeks." His mother said in a terrifyingly calm voice. Ash gulped and had to fight the urge to shut the visual down. She might not be able to do anything to him through the screen, but her eyes made him question that fact. "It has been five weeks since you've called me or sent me a message."

"Sorry." He muttered. Ash didn't really have anything to say in his defense. It was clear that he was in the wrong.

"Do you know how worried I was?" She hissed. "The only reason I didn't have Professor Oak fly me out there was because Jonathan and Amelia's parents told me that they were with you and that you were fine. I didn't even know that you were travelling with them until two days after you left!"

He didn't try to say anything, instead opting to look down in shame.

"I'm not going to tell you to send me a message every day." His mother said in a slightly more relaxed voice. "But you need to remember to call me whenever you get to a city. I was so worried about you."

"Sorry." He repeated quietly. Ash felt extremely guilty about forgetting his mother. Even if he was on his journey there was no excuse for it. "I'll call you whenever I can."

"That's all I want." His mother said with a small smile. Most of her tranquil fury seemed to have dissipated. "Good luck, honey. I'm sure you'll do great!"

"Bye." They said in unison. A moment later the screen went black. Ash sighed, although he brightened up when Nidoran – who had been quietly sitting next to his foot the entire time – carefully butted his head against Ash's leg.

"Thanks, buddy." He said tiredly. "Let's get to bed."

Nidoran chirped at that and twitched his ears. Ash knelt down and carefully picked the small creature up. A few minutes later they were both asleep in the rather comfortable bed the Pokemon Center had provided for both of them.

It had been a long day.

XX

"So, guys, what's the plan?" Jonathan asked as he took a break from devouring his breakfast. "Are we leaving for Vermillion today or are we going to take a few days off?"

Amelia paused in her own ravenous frenzy. "I was hoping we could stay here for a while. Ash and I found a few good spots to find pokemon and fishing poles are really cheap around here. None of us have a water type, so at the very least one of us need to catch one."

"Agreed." Jonathan said with a yawn. "But I'm going to go back to bed soon. I feel like I'm about to go to fall into my cereal right now. Maybe I'll meet up with you guys later."

"Oh, come on." Ash interjected. He had just finished clearing his plate. "You blew us off yesterday to go see that show. Don't do it again."

Jonathan shrugged. "Alright, I'll go. But don't blame me too much if I fall asleep in the middle of what we end up doing."

"We won't." Amelia smirked. "I'm used to it by now."

Their friend rolled his eyes and shrugged again. "Funny. Anyways, where do we buy some fishing rods? We should try to get out early before the other trainers get up."

Amelia and Ash nodded in agreement and continued eating, although Ash tried to think of where he would fish. The older trainers that had hung around the café yesterday warned them to stay pretty far away from each other while they fished or looked for pokemon – apparently the pokemon around Cerulean were slightly skittish and tended to shy away from groups.

A few minutes later they put their cleared plates away and left the Pokemon Center. It wasn't a long trip to the Pokemon Mart, but the crowds slowed them down somewhat. Still, it took hardly any time at all before they were leaving the store with three high-quality fishing rods. In almost no time at all they found themselves at the city boundaries in preparation for their explorations.

"We need to split up." Ash reminded the others when they showed no sign of going their own ways. "Do all of you have a map so that you don't get lost?"

"Yeah." Amelia nodded. "I say we meet up at the Pokemon Center later. Does six sound good?"

The two boys nodded. They awkwardly stood around for a few moments before Amelia and Jonathan ran off their own separate ways, leaving Ash standing alone. He shrugged and withdrew his map. The trainer had spent a few minutes last night marking likely locations for pokemon on it and wanted to be reminded.

Unfortunately, just as he began to put his map up and walk down the road he heard a rather unwelcome voice.

"Oh look, it's the loser." Gary sneered from behind him. Ash groaned and turned around. He'd been hoping he wouldn't have to see his rival again until the Indigo Conference. "I'm surprised you've made it this far. I half expected for Brock to beat you so bad that you quit."

Ash glared at Gary. "What do you want? Still sore about our last battle?"

His rival colored a bit, but retained control over his temper. "Shut up." He growled. "You just got lucky. I didn't think you even knew how to let your pokemon out."

The trainer's glare intensified as Gary continued. Now Gary had a devilish smirk on his face and had withdrawn one of the six pokeballs clipped to his belt.

"You know what?" He asked with a wide grin. "Let's have another battle. I could use some more spending money. How many pokemon do you have?"

"Two." Ash retorted. Gary smiled condescendingly.

"Only two?" He gasped in faux surprise and theatrically pressed his hand to his heart. "I've already got fifteen. I guess I can't hold you to my standards though. Not everyone is as talented as me."

"How about you stop talking and battle me." Ash said stonily. He already had Plume's pokeball in his hand and was tossing it up in the air and catching it. Nidoran could be saved for last. "Two on two. We don't stop until one of us surrenders or our pokemon is unconscious."

Gary nodded with that annoying smirk still firmly on his face. He tapped the release button on his pokeball. Ash did the same.

Ash sighed when the two beams of red light formed into two identical pokemon. Plume was giving Gary's pidgeotto – a massive creature that looked to be near evolution judging from its magnificent plumage – a condescending glare. Gary's pidgeotto simply looked at Plume for a moment before glancing away in boredom.

"That's a pretty small pidgeotto you've got there, Ash." Gary grinned. "Think it can keep up?"

"Can yours? It doesn't look very smart." Ash retorted. Gary kept the grin on his face, responding to Ash's words with a command.

"Get up in the air." His rival ordered. With a powerful push of its massive wings the pidgeotto launched itself up into the air. Ash examined the nearly flawless pokemon in curiosity, trying to find any weaknesses Plume could exploit.

Unfortunately, he found none. The gigantic bird's form was perfect and its bulk would keep it from being affected by many of Plume's weaker moves. It was slower than Plume, however, so that was an advantage. And from what Gary had said about his number of pokemon Ash figured that it wouldn't be nearly as well-trained or skilled as Plume was.

"Fly. Keep away from it as best as you can." He told Plume. His friend nodded before launching herself upward to join her opponent in the sky, voicing a loud shriek of challenge as she pushed upwards. The pidgeotto returned the challenge before diving at Plume with raised talons.

Gary had a smug smile on his face when Plume failed to dodge the attack, despite Ash's calls. Plume barely seemed affected by the attack, however, and had forced the larger bird away with a snap of her sharp beak.

"Screech." Ash ordered. A second later, Plume released a horrific sound that reminded Ash of grinding metal. Gary's pidgeotto was badly affected by it due to its sharp ears and lost focus for a moment. "Wing attack. Follow with peck."

"Focus!" Gary screamed. When the pidgeotto heeded his call, Ash noticed that he had a cocky grin on his face. It shrunk when Plume still managed to painfully jab his bird with her sharp beak, but didn't vanish. "Now use twister. Knock that runt out of the sky."

Ash had a bad feeling about this. He'd never even heard of twister before, although he assumed it had something to do with a wind attack. "Dodge whatever it sends at you."

He hadn't been expecting Gary's pidgeotto to flap its wings and fire a full-fledged tornado at Plume. Ash had to shield his eyes from the massive dust clouds pulled up by the attack.

"Get out of its way!" He shouted, losing his composure. Plume could be hurt extremely badly by that attack if she was thrown into the ground. And then he wasn't sure if he would be able to resist punching Gary in his smug face.

A few seconds later his vision cleared enough for him to see that Plume had mostly evaded the attack, although her feathers were dirty and ruffled. She shrieked in annoyance but waited for Ash to give her an order.

He couldn't think of a strategy. The only moves he had had Plume use would be mostly ineffective against the larger pidgeotto, but he had to do something if he wanted to keep Plume from being blasted by attacks like that twister. Of course, there was one move that the pokedex had told him Plume had, although he had never bothered to use it before.

"Whirlwind!" He cried out in desperation. Plume shrieked and flapped her wings, sending a powerful gust of wind at the other pidgeotto. Ash watched urgently as the pidgeotto tried to dodge the attack due to Gary's urgent shouts, but cheered when it was hurled into the ground. Not even its massive bulk could keep it protected. "Finish it with fly!"

Plume shrieked in acceptance and dived at the injured pidgeotto. Ash had a massive grin on his face as Plume swept down at the other bird and jabbed her talons into its exposed chest with incredible force. The pidgeotto fainted quietly.

"Is that the best you've got?" Ash mocked. It looked like he was right. Even though that pidgeotto was probably one of the best specimens in Kanto it wasn't nearly as well-trained as Plume. "I'm not very impressed."

Gary had a sneer on his face. "I just got that one." He replied. "Let's see if your Nidoran's gotten any better. Wartortle certainly has."

"Good job, Plume." Ash said before calling her back. A moment later he released Nidoran, who growled when he saw Gary. "Get ready, Nidoran. This'll probably be a hard fight."

His rival smirked. "And you won't win this one either. So you nicknamed your pidgeotto? How cute."

Ash glared. "Let's just battle. I have things to do after I beat you."

"Whatever." Gary yawned. He casually released Wartortle, who Ash carefully examined. The turtle was certainly more intimidating than it had been as a squirtle and Ash figured that Gary would have spent a lot of time training it after his loss. His rival never had liked losing.

The atmosphere was tense. Both trainers knew that they had to win this. Ash might have beaten Gary's pidgeotto with Plume, but that was just a warm up for this battle – the real battle. Nidoran and Wartortle were their strongest pokemon and both would serve as the real test of each other's strength.

Ash knew that Wartortle would be slightly faster than Nidoran, so he decided to wait. Maybe he could get lucky and poison Wartortle before the battle really got going. A few moments later Gary made the first move.

"Water gun!" He shouted. Wartortle didn't show any reaction other than opening his mouth and shooting the powerful blast of water at Nidoran. "Follow up with rapid spin. Try to keep away from its spikes!"

"Stand your ground and prepare focus kick." Ash ordered. Nidoran wouldn't be able to jump out of the way of such a fast attack and he didn't want his friend to waste the energy doing so. It was best to prepare for the next stage of the battle. Nidoran recoiled from the attack, but it didn't do much damage.

Nidoran glared intently at Wartortle as it pulled itself into its shell and launched itself at the smaller pokemon. Ash idly noticed that tufts of its fur were still exposed. As Wartortle spun towards Nidoran, Ash grinned. His friend was already jumping up into the air and preparing to use his combo.

It worked to perfection. Wartortle narrowly dodged Nidoran, but was knocked to the ground when Nidoran used double kick. Ash cheered for Nidoran and ordered him to get back. There was no doubt that Wartortle would be much more proficient in close combat than Nidoran due to its superior size, strength, and speed.

"Water pulse." Gary ordered in annoyance. "Then finish the runt off with bubble."

Wartortle was good at following orders. It quickly shot a large ball of water at Nidoran, who failed to avoid the attack. Ash gritted his teeth and gave Nidoran the order to use an attack that could possibly change the tide of battle.

"Confusion." Ash barked. Despite the pain Nidoran had suffered, he stared at Wartortle straight in the eye before Wartortle could use bubble. His eyes began to glow a bright, vibrant pink and slowly grew in intensity.

"Where did you learn that?" Gary shouted in confusion. Ash just grinned as the helpless Wartortle was slowly raised into the air by Nidoran's psychic attack. Despite its struggles it was lifted a few more feet into the air before being thrown away by Nidoran.

"Get up and fight back!" Gary roared as he began to lose his composure. Ash gave Nidoran a moment to rest before pressing his advantage. The confusion had taken a lot out of him and Wartortle was having trouble getting back up.

When he deemed Nidoran to be ready, Ash began the fight once more. "Poison sting. Follow up with focus kick."

Nidoran growled as he lowered his body and shot several thin, poison filled needles at the Wartortle. Most were deflected by Wartortle's thick shell, but one managed to land in its vulnerable belly and injected its poison into the creature.

Ash grinned when he realized that Wartortle couldn't keep fighting if he took another major hit. The confusion had battered him pretty badly and now he would be steadily weakened by the poison, albeit a bit slower than Ash had hoped.

"It's time to get serious." Gary said angrily. "Use protect and then finish that runt off with your newest attack!"

He rolled his eyes. Gary probably thought that Nidoran would be defeated by something like aqua tail. Ash knew that Nidoran still had more than enough fight in him to survive Wartortle's attacks. All he had to worry about was the protect.

Although Nidoran went through with the attack – it had been too late for Ash to tell him to stop – it did absolutely nothing against the thin green shield that Wartortle had created. Now he just needed to get away from Wartortle before he could attack.

"Get away as fast as you can!" Ash shouted. Nidoran's ears twitched as he heard the command. He quickly scampered away from the weakened Wartortle, but couldn't have anticipated the water type's next move.

Wartortle reared his head back and shot an icy blue beam of energy directly into Nidoran's back as the small creature ran away. Ash shivered as he felt the air grow cold around them but was too afraid that Nidoran had been hurt to notice.

"Good job." Gary told Wartortle smugly. The ice beam had knocked Nidoran out the moment it had hit, its energy to powerful for the tired creature to resist. Ash was stunned as his friend collapsed to the ground, unbelieving that he had actually _lost._

"Better luck next time, Ashy-boy!" Gary said with that same smug grin. "Guess that first time was just a fluke. Maybe you'll get to my level someday." With that he returned Wartortle and walked off.

Ash didn't move except to go to Nidoran's side. The shocked trainer gave him a revive. He patted his friend on the head in consolation when Nidoran looked up at him in sorrow.

"It isn't your fault, buddy." Ash whispered. "It's mine. I should have realized that Gary would be fitting Wartortle up with TMs and power it up as much as possible. I should have been training with you and Plume more."

Nidoran was silent as Ash continued to absentmindedly pat his head. Ash just stared at the sky in confusion.

How he had lost? He had never lost a battle. Trainers much more experienced than he was had been soundly beaten by Nidoran's unpredictability and decent power. So how in the name of Mew had he lost to Gary of all people?

He sighed and pulled himself from his thoughts. Maybe this was a sign. Cerulean was the gateway to the rest of Kanto, where his real adventures and the real trainers were. Gary was just the first of those that could beat him. Nidoran and Plume were strong, yes, but they couldn't win these battles with just the two of them and on their own strength.

They needed to train and he needed to diversify his team. He wanted to progress as far as he could in the Indigo Conference and take the League by storm. He wanted to win.

And he definitely wanted to beat Gary every time they met. Ash frowned and stood up. Nidoran looked up at him in curiosity.

"Let's go, Nidoran." He said with renewed determination. "We've got a team to build."

Nidoran growled in agreement and kept his head high as he followed Ash down the trail. Half an hour later they had arrived at one of the likely spots Ash had circled on his map. The pokemon sat down next to Ash as he sat down and released Plume, who happily released a piercing cry when she was released.

Ash smiled and leaned against a large rock as he cast his large lure into the river. It was nice to relax.

XX

Amelia was bored. There was no other way to put it. She couldn't find any trainers to battle, which meant she couldn't improve. In fact, there weren't even any wild pokemon around to fight. Rattata had made sure of that by snapping at any of the other pokemon he sensed.

Maybe things would be less boring if Jonathan or Ash were here. They were always doing something fun or exciting. Arguing with Jonathan always killed the time and it was practically second nature to them by now.

Ash, on the other hand, would have been fun to battle if he were here. He didn't really talk much in Pallet Town, always with his nose stuck in some book about pokemon or arguing and fighting with Gary. Her face twisted in distaste as she thought of the stuck up boy.

He hadn't been that bad back when they had first started school – and had even been best friends with Ash for a while, she dimly remembered despite what a strange concept it was to her now – but over the past few years he had become even more arrogant than before and became something of a bully in their class, albeit a well liked one.

She shook herself out of her thoughts. If she kept on thinking about Gary she would have the strong urge to punch something. Hard.

Ash was a much better subject. He was nice enough and was clearly going to be an incredibly powerful trainer when he became more experienced and placed some diversity into his team, but for now she would still be able to pose a significant challenge to him.

All three of their little group were unusually skilled – that was something that she had noticed quite soon, once they had begun to sweep nearly every trainer they had encountered out of the way – although Ash was clearly the most powerful. He hadn't even lost a battle yet.

She frowned and wondered whether he would continue his winning streak. It seemed unlikely, although she had to admit that she would like to be the one to do it. Ash was the most formidable opponent right now, although she and Jonathan were close to him in skill level at the moment.

Her thoughts turned to her best friend. She wasn't sure where he had ventured off to, although she assumed it was to a shaded spot where he could take a nap. He had seemed quite tired from their journey and wouldn't be in a very good mood until he'd slept well, so she hoped he did.

Amelia closed her eyes for a moment and stopped thinking. This was supposed to be a time for relaxing and spending time with her pokemon, who were currently asleep and huddled against her.

Rattata was curled up on her lap and seemed to be dreaming, judging from the small twitches on his face and the adorable little growls that came out from his small body. She knew that he would be ready to awake at a moment's notice if he heard something nearing their fishing spot.

Bulbasaur had just recently dozed off and had trapped her right arm under his small, heavy body. She had made sure to loosen it enough to where it wouldn't cut off blood flow and would be easily movable if she actually managed to – wait, there was a pull on her lure.

"Speak of the Giratina." She muttered with a grin, smoothly pulling her arm out from underneath Bulbasaur and taking hold of the fishing rod. It was a rather weak pull, but she could feel it growing stronger.

Rattata growled at her when she began to stand up, but landed on all fours when he fell and turned to the water. He began to scurry towards it in curiosity, but she kept him from going to near. She didn't want him getting hurt if it was a powerful water type.

"Stay over here." She ordered. Rattata hissed and drooped his ears. Amelia looked at him guiltily. "I'll give you a treat later."

Her gluttonous pokemon seemed to perk up at that and quickly scrambled over to her. Amelia grinned widely and began to focus on pulling whatever had bitten her lure up onto the ground where Rattata and Bulbasaur could knock it out.

It was a surprisingly short battle. Whatever pokemon she had caught couldn't have been very old or strong yet, or else it would have attempted to put up a stronger resistance to her efforts to overpower it.

Soon enough the mystery was explained. Amelia grunted as she gave a final herculean effort and pulled the pokemon up into the air, revealing a creature with two long, brown-green tentacles and a bulbous body at the top with two large eyes and even larger smooth red orbs above its eyes. She immediately recognized it as a tentacool, a rather common pokemon throughout Kanto and the surrounding regions.

The creature's lack of rarity didn't diminish its usefulness in any way, however. It was common, but because of that there were a surprisingly low amount of trainers that were willing to train them, preferring more exotic breeds instead.

But it could be honed into a powerful weapon and defensive powerhouse in its own right given enough time and effort. Poison types were notoriously difficult to defeat unless you had a pokemon that was effective against them or immune to poison, due to their toxicity to surrounding life and environments. Combined with the fact that few pokemon were effective against them made them a popular choice to wear down opponents.

So she was quick in ordering her pokemon to attack. Gently, of course. She didn't want to injure a pokemon, even if it wouldn't be joining her team in a few short minutes.

"Rattata, hyper fang. Bulbasuar, use stun spore." She ordered. Her friends faithfully carried out her commands and quickly overwhelmed the tentacool while Amelia picked up and prepared the pokeball she had set out next to her bag.

When she was sure the tentacool was helpless against the pokeball her pokemon were ordered to back off. She hadn't brought any revives and she wanted to talk to the newest member of her team before continuing to fish or search for other trainers to battle.

Rattata and Bulbasaur quickly stopped their assault on the helpless creature and backed away. Bulbasaur calmly plodded to her side while Rattata continued to circle around the weakened tentacool, baring his fangs and hissing.

Amelia primed the ball before throwing it. It struck its target, landing on the gelatinous body before rolling off. The ball was motionless for a moment before the button glowed a bright scarlet and opened up, transforming the tentacool into iridescent red energy and pulling it in before snapping shut.

She watched carefully as the ball shook several times. When it finally stopped moving and clicked she walked over and carefully picked the ball up. Amelia looked at it for a moment before releasing Tentacool into the water.

It was almost completely motionless as the waves began to carry it away, but Amelia's sharp eyes caught its tentacles wrapping around some sort of supporting structure in the water that kept it from drifting away.

Amelia made sure it was secure before pulling out her pokedex and scanning the pokemon.

"_Tentacool. The Jellyfish Pokemon." _The robotic voice said as it began to give Amelia the abridged version of the entry on the pokemon._ "Its body is almost entirely composed of water. It ensnares its foe with its two long tentacles, then stabs with the poison stingers at their tips. _

_This tentacool currently knows the moves: Poison sting, supersonic, acid, toxic spikes, bubblebeam, and wrap. Its ability is Liquid Ooze, which inflicts damage on foes using any draining move."_

It had a pretty good move pool, Amelia thought as she looked over the information the pokedex had pulled up. Tentacool tended to learn a vast amount of moves anyways, but for such a young example of the breed it was impressive.

She would have preferred for it to have Clear Body as an ability since it would negate some attacks that would make Tentacool near useless, but she could easily find a way to incorporate Liquid Ooze into her battle strategies. At least it would give her an edge against some grass types.

But now wasn't the time to be making strategies. It was the time to make friends with the newest member of her team. Amelia didn't know what personalities that tentacool tended to display, but she hoped that this one would be easy to get along with.

"Hi." She said cheerfully. Tentacool looked up at her fearfully with its large eyes. "I'm your new trainer and you're my new friend."

It just shrank back, apparently still afraid of her.

"Don't worry." Amelia said soothingly. "I'm not going to hurt you and neither are my friends."

Rattata sent an annoyed glance at her, but she glared back until he calmed down. He was much more irritable than Bulbasaur, but she was sure Tentacool would be able to fight him off pretty quickly. The normal type hated getting in battles with poison types to begin with, so hopefully there wouldn't be a problem.

Bulbasaur grunted in agreement with Amelia and seemed to do the bulbasaur equivalent of a smile at Tentacool. Apparently Tentacool was encouraged by this because it seemed to lose some of its timidity.

"So, do you want to be friends?" She asked. Tentacool stared up at her before nodding. Amelia wasn't quite sure how it knew to do that, but was glad that it did. The trainer wasn't sure how else Tentacool could have said yes.

"Good." Amelia smiled. "We're going to have a nice relationship."

She promptly returned Tentacool before releasing him closer to her. The aquatic pokemon looked at her in confusion as it fell to the ground, but seemed to know not to resist when she began to heal its injuries with the variety of paralyze heals and potions she had brought.

When it was all over with, Amelia transferred him back into the water. Tentacool wouldn't be very happy on land, after all. And when all of her pokemon had returned to their happy positions she threw the lure back out into the water.

Getting her pokemon some extra experience couldn't hurt, she thought as she leaned back against the tree trunk and began to idly scratch the snoozing Rattata's ears. And they deserved to get stronger.

Of course, she didn't especially mind if she didn't find another pokemon to catch or battle. The peace was nice.

XX

"Metal claw." Jonathan yawned. Charmander lazily used the attack on the large rhyhorn, carving deep gouges into its side and knocking it unconscious in a single blow. The rhyhorn's trainer, a large hiker that looked rather disgruntled at being beaten by a kid, returned the ground type and walked over.

"Here's your winnings." The gigantic man scowled. Jonathan casually thanked him for the charity and sent him on his way.

He rolled his eyes when the man was gone. That was the third battle he'd had since splitting up with the others an hour earlier and he had easily won every single one of them. All of them had thought that Cerulean would hold trainers of a higher caliber than the ones they had previously encountered, but so far he'd been disappointed. It seemed that nearly everyone he met was an amateur.

Jonathan shrugged and looked over at Charmander, who had curled up on the warm rock and was trying to sleep.

"Hey, no sleeping." He scowled. "If I don't get to do it, you don't either."

Charmander growled in annoyance and shot a small poof of smoke at him. Jonathan rolled his eyes.

"Quit your whining." He said. "Let's find a nice clearing or something. I don't want to sleep where other trainers might find us. Jerks might wake us up."

The lizard seemed to understand that and stopped giving him the evil eye. Jonathan smiled when he realized his friend wasn't annoyed anymore and released Rhyhorn. Might as well give both of his pokemon time to stretch their legs.

He was careful when the gigantic ground type was released. Rhyhorn could be a bit "enthusiastic" in her greetings and he didn't want her to accidently bruise his leg. She would be terribly torn up about it later and would probably be sulking for the rest of the day once Rhyhorn realized what she did.

So he casually side stepped her initial happy charge. Rhyhorn hurtled past him before finally realizing that he wasn't there. When she turned around and trotted towards him at a much safer pace he let her butt her hard head against his leg in greeting, although he winced a bit as the stone impacted it.

Nevertheless he patted her head – snickering when he heard the stone creature rumble in happiness – before looking over at Charmander. The stupid lizard had already tried to go back to sleep.

"Will you get back up?" Jonathan asked in annoyance. "You're like a snorlax."

Charmander shot another small cloud of oily smoke at him in annoyance, but got up as Jonathan casually waved it away. He waddled over to the trainer's side and waited for Jonathan to scratch his neck.

"How would you get on without me?" Jonathan asked the silent creature as he caved in to his friend's pleading eyes. "Anyways, let's go. I was looking at the map while you beat that rhyhorn – not you," he said when Rhyhorn glanced up at her name, "and found a few spots that look pretty isolated. It should only take about an hour or so to get there."

Jonathan really could sympathize with Charmander's reluctance – he didn't exactly enjoy the prospect of shoving through the tall grass and walking that much on his tired legs either – but didn't throw his friend a bone. Charmander needed to get his endurance up anyways, and walking sounded like a fine way to do it.

Despite Charmander's annoyed snorts of smoke, Jonathan knew that the lizard was following just behind him as they began to set off. The only bad thing about the journey would be that Rhyhorn had gotten excited and charged through the tall grass surrounding the small clearing where he had just battled, forcing them to take her way.

Still, it wasn't as though they were in a hurry. Jonathan cheerfully whistled a random tune as he followed his pokemon's path of destruction through the brush, completely unaware of where it could take him.

Life was an adventure, after all. Why not follow the paths it presented him?

XX

Ash roared in victory as he yanked whatever was biting on his lure out of the water. Whatever it was had to be extremely light – he hardly had the strength to lift a seaking or staryu out of the water – but it put up an incredible fight.

Nidoran and Plume were both waiting for whatever formidable foe Ash pulled out of the water. Plume's feathers were puffed up, making the massive bird seem even more intimidating, while the barbs on Nidoran's back were leaking a clear, potent poison. Ash had made sure to bring plenty of antidote for whatever pokemon would be the newest addition to their team.

While he hadn't exactly been expecting to pull up a gyarados or psyduck, he hadn't been expecting the small blue creature fiercely remaining attached to his lure to have put up such a strong fight.

The horsea was small, but had proved that it had enough fight to earn a place on any newbie's team. It looked strangely angry for its breed and glared at Ash and his pokemon for a moment before it let go of the lure and landed on the ground, although it spit a glob of ink at them as it fell.

Plume easily fluttered out of the way and Nidoran clearly wasn't the target. Ash, however, got a face full of ink that left him gagging and sputtering in an attempt to get the foul smelling and tasting liquid out of his mouth.

He was blind and useless to his pokemon while the horrible ink was covering himself, so he quickly set to wiping as much of it off. Soon enough Ash was able to see, but he knew that his face was stained with ink and would probably be completely black for a few days. But his problems didn't matter. The fight his pokemon were in did.

Ash still couldn't talk – he was still spitting up ink and trying to remove that awful taste from his mouth, although he hadn't thrown up…yet – but he was capable of priming a pokeball and was more than ready to hit the horsea with it if his pokemon began to go too far. The trainer knew that his pokemon would have taken offense to the attack upon him and might endanger the horsea if not stopped fast enough.

As he watched the battle he was pleasantly surprised with his friends' composure. They were fighting hard against the fierce horsea, but were reigning themselves in to avoid causing real danger to it. Ash was proud that they had such good self control.

The battle was incredibly short. Despite the horsea's insane method of fighting – it was firing powerful jets of water at his pokemon incredibly quickly and seemed to have no defense other than a great offense – his pokemon were hardly even disturbed by its attacks.

Plume was simply too fast for them to accurately strike her and seemed to be toying with the water type and Nidoran seemed to be spending more time dodging the attacks than really fighting.

When Nidoran finally became serious and recklessly charged the horsea, the horsea pulled the same trick as before. Ash had to hold in a laugh as Nidoran was sent reeling from a blast of sticky, reeking ink, but felt more than a few twinges of sympathy for his friend.

Nidoran backed off and attempted to wipe his face off on the grass. Ash decided to end this and catch the horsea once Plume had weakened it.

"Gust." He ordered, ignoring the thick feeling of ink on his tongue and the strong urge to gag. Not even spitting had removed it. Plume cried out in acceptance and flapped her powerful wings, sending a strong blast of air at the weak horsea.

Ash was impressed that it managed to stay strong, although he knew it would only take one more attack to knock it unconscious. The horsea had almost no endurance and had to be tired from the struggle it had put up in order to keep from being pulled up with the lure.

"Quick attack."

Plume seemed to flit out of existence for a moment before she appeared in front of the horsea. The force gathered by her speed was more than enough to knock the small creature out and she was no worse for wear when she flew over to Ash and landed on his shoulder.

He smiled and stroked her crest before kneeling down.

"You did good, Plume." Ash said happily. "But could you make sure the horsea doesn't escape? I've got to clean up Nidoran first."

Plume nodded and fluttered over to the horsea. Ash felt a bit of sympathy for the poor water type when he saw Plume delicately put her sharp talons onto its back. If it was conscious it would probably be terrified.

Now that he didn't have to worry about the insane horsea spitting ink at him he turned back to Nidoran. His friend looked pathetic trying to rub his face against the grass and nearby rocks, succeeding only in smearing the ink further.

"Nidoran." Ash called out. Nidoran's ears twitched and the pink creature slowly waddled over to Ash before he whined sadly. "I know, I know. Just stay still for a moment."

Ash picked up the towel he had brought in order to dry himself off and carefully began to wipe the ink off of Nidoran's body. Most of it was concentrated on his face, although some had landed on his barbs. The trainer made sure to avoid those. His poison would probably end up destroying the ink later anyways.

His job was far less than perfect. Nidoran still had black smeared all over his body, but Ash figured that a quick dunk in the water would get most of it off. Maybe Nidoran would be more amenable to it if Ash joined him. He wasn't looking forward to meeting his friends with a face full of ink.

"Oh well." Ash muttered as he pulled the permanently stained towel off of Nidoran's head. He could still use it, at least. "Nidoran, no hard feelings towards our new friend, all right?"

Nidoran growled at the mention of the horsea, but didn't do anything. Ash took that as acceptance.

"Alright, Plume, you can get off of him now."

Plume glared down at the horsea before fluttering over to Ash's shoulder. He managed to stay mostly upright this time. Ash paused to pet her before throwing the primed pokeball at the unconscious horsea.

It sucked the horsea in before rocking a few times. Ash grinned when he saw it click and staggered over to collect the newest member of his team.

"Plume, could you get up in that tree?" He said to the bird. "I don't want Horsea to be intimidated."

Plume nodded and launched herself into the air before eventually settling in one of the trees whose branches were strong enough to hold her great weight. Ash would have to make sure he released Horsea in a position where he couldn't see the bird.

Nidoran quietly sat by his foot. Ash crouched down and scratched behind one of his large ears before releasing Horsea. Maybe it wouldn't be so violent if it didn't see him as such a large being.

Horsea was still unconscious when it was released, so Ash took the opportunity to scan him with the pokedex.

"_Horsea. The Dragon Pokemon." _The pokedex began. _"If Horsea senses danger, it will reflexively spray a dense black ink from its mouth and try to escape. This Pokemon swims by cleverly flapping the fins on its back._

_This pokemon currently knows the moves: Bubble, smokescreen, water gun, bubblebeam, and agility. Its ability is Swift Swim, which increases the pokemon's speed when it is raining or in water."_

Ash nodded slowly. Horsea would definitely be a good team mate. It could cover quite a few weaknesses that his team had at the moment. But right now he needed to make friends with it.

The trainer carefully dug a revive out of his pocket and snapped it in half over Horsea's…mouth? Ash wasn't sure. Nevertheless, the powder inside the diamond shaped container went into the Horsea's system, shocking it back into consciousness and repairing most of the damage.

He didn't expect the Horsea to blast him in the face with a weak water gun the second it woke up. Ash hissed in pain as the force of the attack knocked him onto his back. The trainer wearily pushed himself up and realized that Nidoran was about to attack Horsea.

"Nidoran, stop." He ordered calmly. His friend glanced at him and loyally sat back down. Ash wasn't foolish enough to think that the pink pokemon wasn't more than ready to poison their newest team mate, however. Nidoran was quite protective, after all.

Ash turned back to Horsea, who was warily staring at him. At least he wasn't attacking. That could have caused a problem.

"Please listen to me." He said soothingly. Horsea still didn't attack, which Ash took as a good sign. "I've captured you. That means that I'm your trainer and that they," he motioned to Nidoran and Plume, although Horsea didn't look back at the large bird, "are your teammates. I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to help you get stronger."

Horsea perked up at the last sentence. Ash grinned. It looked like he'd found what Horsea wanted out of their relationship.

"I'm wanting to be the best trainer and I think that you can help me toward that goal. Do you think you can keep up?" He asked slowly. Horsea eagerly nodded, the determined spark lighting up in its eyes. "Good. So are you going to stop attacking us?"

A somewhat less eager nod. Ash grinned.

"Well then, Horsea, welcome to the team." Suddenly a thought sprung to his mind. Would Horsea want a nickname? When he voiced the thought to Horsea, the water type nodded.

Ash struggled to think of a name that would fit Horsea. He went through countless names – Blaster, Berserker, and Wave to name only a few, but none of them seemed to fit. Horsea seemed to like the names that had something to do with water more, so he eventually listed everything that had even the most tenuous connection to water until he finally found one that Horsea liked: Torrent.

"Alright then, Torrent," Ash said. The name rolled off of his tongue fairly well and it seemed to fit the fiery Horsea. "Let's get a move on. I want to see what your limits are."

Torrent's eyes narrowed in concentration as Ash returned him and began to walk back the way he came with Nidoran walking by his side. Plume flew high above them, searching for possible challenges to test Torrent on and any threats that they should flee from.

XX

"Wrap and poison sting." Amelia commanded. Tentacool coiled around the other trainer's krabby and bound it with its powerful tentacles. When the water type was defenseless, Tentacool stabbed its stingers into the krabby's hard shell and injected as much poison into it as it could before the krabby overpowered it and forced Tentacool to retreat.

"C'mon Krabby, use vicegrip!" The other trainer – an overconfident teenage boy that had stumbled upon her fishing spot and promptly challenged her – shouted. Amelia rolled her eyes as the krabby slowly pushed itself towards Tentacool.

She didn't even have to tell Tentacool to push itself away. It easily propelled itself a safe distance away from the krabby and awaited her next order.

"Supersonic and follow up with bubblebeam." She said casually. Tentacool's deep red orbs glowed as he sent out a wave of supersonic sound at the slowed krabby. It quickly took effect and disoriented the krabby even further, causing the creature to sink to the bottom of the riverbed.

Now it was just a waiting game, she thought with a smile. The krabby was completely useless now and she could tell that the poison was already beginning to work on its victim.

When it was sure that the krabby was defenseless, Tentacool forcefully ejected a stream of bubbles towards its foe. They pushed the krabby back but didn't do much damage.

"Stay away from it and dodge any attacks." Amelia commanded. Tentacool understood and stayed far away from the rapidly weakening krabby.

A few minutes later she had accepted the money from the put out trainer and had begun to reexamine Tentacool's performance in the battle.

It was fast in the water, although nearly useless on land. Tentacool was adept at neutralizing foes as well and could escape from most attacks that would crush or hold it thanks to its small body.

All in all it had been a success. Tentacool had proved its worth.

Now all that was left to do was get back to Cerulean. It was nearly time for them to meet up again.

XX

Jonathan knew he needed to turn back soon, but he didn't care. He had just wandered into someone's house or workplace – although it reminded strongly of Professor Oak's lab due to the pristine whiteness of the place and the strange machines and computers whose purpose he couldn't divine – and was currently looking at a small clefairy.

He grinned and knelt in front of it. Although he would like to catch it – clefairy were notoriously rare in Kanto, only being found in the depths of Mt. Moon – he realized that whoever owned it would be rather put out with him if he tried. It wasn't so far from Mt. Moon by itself without being captured or bought.

Of course, now he wanted to find whoever lived here.

"Charmander, do you smell anyone?" He said to the lizard. Charmander sniffed the air before pointing to the clefairy.

"Besides the clefairy." Jonathan responded with a roll of his eyes. "Are there any humans that are here?"

Charmander just pointed a claw towards the clefairy. Jonathan sighed and began to turn away. He doubted that the owner of the house would want him snooping through their things.

Just as he reached the door, he heard someone cry out frantically in a voice that almost made him scream out, "Nerd!". Jonathan turned back and looked for the source of the voice. He didn't see anything. Maybe it was just a haunter playing a trick on him.

"Down here!" The nasally voice cried again. Jonathan gaped when he saw the clefairy pointing at itself.

"How the hell can you talk?" He asked in astonishment. "You aren't psychic."

The clefairy crossed its arms in annoyance – an oddly human gesture. It disconcerted Jonathan a bit.

"That's because I'm not a pokemon." It retorted. Charmander nodded in agreement. "My name is Bill and I own this place. I was doing experiments with a transporter, but it changed me into this clefairy."

"Is there a way to change you back?"

"Yes." Bill replied. "See that computer over there?"

Jonathan turned his head and saw a small console that seemed far more boring than the more exotic equipment that littered the rest of the room. He looked over at Bill.

"Yeah."

"Good." Bill said in satisfaction. "There's an icon on the screen that has the word 'Activate' underneath it. When I get into the transporter and close the door, press the button."

The trainer shrugged as the clefairy clumsily walked over to the large machine. He guessed that Bill hadn't gotten used to his form yet.

When the transporter's large hatch smoothly closed, Jonathan found the icon and tapped it. He covered his eyes when the machine began to glow a brilliant, impossibly bright white. Jonathan warily looked at the other transporter when the light was gone. A bit of smoke was still seeping out of the machines, but it seemed to be fizzling out.

Jonathan watched in wary fascination as the other transporter's hatch opened, revealing the form of a scrawny man with messy green hair and a pale, thin complexion. He wore an expensive looking suit and looked to be very reserved. All in all it was a bit different than what the trainer had expected.

He had judged Bill to be some scrawny guy with a lab outfit, not someone whose appearance screamed, "I'm richer than you!"

"Thanks for getting me out of that form." Bill said as he stumbled out of the transporter. "I was afraid that I would be stuck like that until one of my acquaintances came over next week."

"Not a problem." Jonathan said with a grin. He looked down to Charmander, who now seemed quite bored. "Anyways, I should probably go. I was supposed to be back at Cerulean a while ago."

Bill nodded. "Of course, don't let me keep you. But before you go, here's a reward." The man dug around in one of his pockets for a moment until he pulled out a crumpled ticket. "I was sent this by one of my friends in the League, but I'm not going. Giving it to you is the least I can do."

"What is it?" Jonathan asked as he took the paper. He looked down at it, but it was just a ticket with a few numbers.

"That," Bill said, "is a ticket to the S.S. Anne, a luxury cruise liner that sails the world. It's going to be stopped in Vermillion City in three weeks, so you should head down that way if you're interested."

Jonathan frowned. "Is it only good for me? I don't want to get separated from my friends."

"Hmm." Bill hummed. "That might be a problem. I've heard that any trainers that can beat Lt. Surge the week before or the two days that it's staying in Vermillion will receive tickets. That's probably your best bet. Anyways, when it leaves it will be going to Fuschia City. Your ticket will get you to Fuschia, but after that you have to get off."

The trainer grinned. "Thanks. This'll help a lot."

"No problem." Bill replied as the trainer ran out of the house.

Jonathan returned Charmander as he ran out the door. As much as he liked having his friend walk with him, the lizard wasn't very fast over long distances. And considering he had several miles to go before he could get to Cerulean he couldn't have anything slowing him down.

XX

"So we just have to beat Lt. Surge to get our tickets?" Amelia asked. Jonathan nodded. "That shouldn't be too difficult. Rattata and Bulbasaur shouldn't have too much of a problem with him. Tentacool might, but I wasn't planning on using him yet anyway."

Ash wasn't so sure. He'd been talking to other trainers here in the Cerulean Pokemon Center Cafeteria that had come from Vermillion. They'd claimed that Lt. Surge had started to put everything he had into his fights, brutally beating opponent pokemon until they had to be rushed to the Pokemon Center.

While he was sure some of it was exaggeration, Ash was just as sure that there was quite a bit of truth hidden within the rumors. Tales of Surge's brutality were famous amongst trainers and anyone who followed the Kanto battling scene so it wasn't too hard to believe that he'd gotten worse. Still, surely the League would have intervened by now if he had been taking things too far.

Even if Surge was going to be more difficult to defeat than Ash would have expected, he was sure that he could still do it. Only Torrent was actually weak to electric types and he was sure Nidoran could beat any of Surge's pokemon in a one on one battle. Of course, they needed to get there before he could come up with any real strategies.

"Alright, so are we ready to leave?" Ash asked, speaking up for the first time. The others looked over at him and nodded. "Good. We need to get to Vermillion in two weeks if we want to have time to beat Surge and explore the area. So let's leave at about noon. That gives us two hours to stock up on supplies."

"Sounds good. Let's get going then." Amelia added in.

They nodded and picked up their bags. It was time to get a move on. Vermillion awaited them.


	3. Chapter 3: Vermillion

They walked into the gym warily. The group had just gotten back from checking in at the Pokemon Center in Vermillion and were disturbed by the sheer scope of the injuries the pokemon there had been put through. None of them were irreparable or life threatening, but for it to all have happened at a single gym was worrying.

Hopefully the journey to Vermillion had toughened them up enough to where they could beat Surge without suffering much damage. It had been a difficult journey – the weather seemed to be against them, and events such as storms and frigid cold had slowed them down – and they had been quite glad when they saw the sunny city of Vermillion.

Ash had spent most of the time battling the myriad of trainers that were travelling down the same road. Most were coming from Vermillion – Surge had frightened most potential challengers away as the tales of his newfound brutality became more famous amongst the Kanto trainers – and were happy to challenge him.

All of his pokemon were almost ready to evolve. Nidoran had been training particularly hard since he was the only one of Ash's pokemon to have a real chance against Surge and was showing many of the signs that showed he was about to evolve: longer barbs, stronger poison, and slightly more aggression.

Plume's plumage was growing more colorful and her crest was starting to lengthen. Her body was also growing tougher and more powerful. Torrent was showing the hints of the barbs that would emerge when he evolved into a seadra and was becoming even _more _aggressive.

They had also trained after they made camp and had eaten. Ash was relentless in their journey, to the point where even Jonathan and Amelia had stopped attempting to keep up.

Now they were in the gym that would pose their first true challenge. Brock had been a trial by fire, the Sisters had been formidable, but Surge was going to truly test their mettle. Everything Ash had worked for would be put to the test.

It was dark in the gym, much like it was in Pewter City. Unlike Pewter City's gym, however, this gym looked more like a warehouse than a gym. There were no environmental factors he could take advantage of other than the plain square of dirt that they would be battling on and was extremely plain.

He noticed that there were two tall trainers standing near each other. Both wore clothes meant to highlight their ruggedness and tough looks. They both sneered at the group as they walked in. From in between them a gigantic, shadowy figure stood in the darkness. The figure stepped forward, revealing it to be the instantly recognizable form of Lt. Surge.

Ash looked up at the massive man in astonishment. He knew that he and his friends were hardly tall, but he'd never seen anyone so mindbogglingly huge before.

Lt. Surge was at least twice the height of Ash and had about ten times the bulk. His two gym trainers – both imposing in their own right – looked positively tiny in comparison. And apparently, judging by the smirk he wore and the clothing that showed off his ridiculously large muscles, his personality fit his appearance.

"So," he growled as he stood between the two gym trainers, "which of you babies are first? Maybe you runts will put up a challenge."

Ash stepped forward and stared Surge in the eye. He felt rather ridiculous as he stared almost directly upward, but kept a defiant glint in his eye. Surge wouldn't cow him.

"I'm first."

Surge looked down at him in disbelief before bursting into laughter. Ash glared up at the man and clenched his fists as the gym leader roared in laughter for what seemed like an eternity. The two gym trainers joined him.

Then the laughter abruptly stopped.

"Oh. You're serious." Surge said. A grin split his broad face. "Alright, runt, let's get this going. One on one. First to knock the other's pokemon unconscious wins. Surrendering is an automatic forfeit."

Ash nodded and continued to glare at the man. One of the tough looking gym trainers led him to one side of the arena while the other led Jonathan and Amelia to an area walled off with clear plastic. Surge took the other side of the arena and withdrew a pokeball.

Surge laughed as he tapped the button to release whatever pokemon was in the ball. Ash withdrew Nidoran's ball and did the same, resolutely staring at the scarlet energy that was beginning to coalesce into the form of a pokemon.

A few seconds later he was able to identify the pokemon. It was a large, powerful looking raichu that had an arrogant smirk on its small face that matched that of its owner. Surge knelt down and scratched the electric type behind the ears before pointing at Nidoran's small form.

"Wreck it."

The raichu bared its fangs and beat its tail against the ground. Ash saw small arcs of electricity sparking out of its yellow pouches as they began to glow a bright white. He wasted no time in giving Nidoran an order.

"Confusion! Dodge that attack if you can." He shouted. Nidoran's ears twitched in confirmation of the order. His eyes glowed a bright pink and Raichu was slowly raised into the air before being slammed into the ground.

Raichu was too tough to be badly hurt by the attack. It seemed more annoyed by the psychic assault than anything and glared at Nidoran when it had pulled itself back up.

"That's the best you can do?" Surge laughed. "Raichu, finish this. Use thunderbolt! Follow up with mega kick and mega punch if it's still up."

Ash gritted his teeth as Raichu's electric sacs glowed a bright white before quickly releasing a massive surge of electricity. The electricity formed into a bright yellow bolt that surged directly at Nidoran, striking him before Nidoran could try to avoid the attack.

"Use focus kick." He shouted. Nidoran didn't confirm the order in any way other than tensing up as he focused his energy.

Unfortunately, Raichu was too fast for Nidoran. Before Nidoran had completed focusing his energy, the orange mouse had scampered over to Nidoran and jumped up. Nidoran tried to attack back as Raichu neared him, but couldn't react fast enough.

Ash wanted to close his eyes as Nidoran was hit with the full force of Raichu's mega kick. His friend went skidding down the field from the power of the attack. Nidoran wearily pulled himself up and tried to prepare itself for Raichu's mega punch but was pushed back another few feet as the attack impacted.

"Come on, Nidoran, you've got to dodge!" Ash screamed. He didn't want Nidoran to be put through a beating like those pokemon at the Pokemon Center.

Surge had a wide grin on his face. "So you're little Nidoran is still standing? Not very impressive, but it's better than what I've been getting through here lately. Raichu, finish it off with body slam."

Raichu nodded gleefully at the command. It sprinted at Nidoran as the smaller pokemon recovered and slammed into the pink creature again, sending Nidoran sprawling. Ash noticed that it was slower than before and seemed slightly tired. Maybe Raichu had been poisoned from hitting Nidoran.

Fat load of good it would do him now. Nidoran was about to be knocked out. Even though he was pulling himself to his feet, Ash could see that his best friend was only one good hit away from being defeated.

"Huh." Surge grunted. "It's still up. Raichu, body slam one last time. I'm bored."

The mouse had small arcs of electricity sparking from its cheeks as it made one last charge. Ash closed his eyes as Raichu grew nearer, waiting to hear the horrible pounding sound that would accompany the powerful attack when it hit the defenseless Nidoran.

But he never heard the impact of Raichu's body impacting his friend. Instead he saw a brilliant white light that was powerful enough to be seen through his closed eyelids. A powerful roar that couldn't have belonged to Nidoran sounded throughout the gym. Ash opened them up in confusion and curiosity, wondering what had happened.

A wide grin split his face when he saw the source of the light: Nidoran, who was so infused with the light that Ash could barely make out his shape. His form was quickly morphing and growing. He quickly recognized it as evolution.

The entire gym was silent as Nidoran's transformation continued. Surge was looking at the evolving Nidoran with an indecipherable look on his face, but Ash thought he could see a hint of respect in his eyes. Both of his friends were holding their breath.

Suddenly the light grew even brighter in an incredible surge. Ash quickly shut his eyes lest it blind him. The intense light still left stars in his eyes.

When he was able to see again, he looked straight at Nidora—Nidorino, he corrected. Ash was struck by the strong resemblance Nidorino bore to his previous form. Although much bulkier and stronger looking, the basic looks of Nidoran hadn't faded.

Ash looked at the powerfully built pokemon in awe for a few moments before grinning.

"Nidorino, focus kick."

Nidorino growled in confirmation and jumped high up in the air, his previous fatigue and injuries no longer preventing him from fighting. Raichu and Surge were still too stunned to do anything, giving Nidorino a free hit on the weakened Raichu.

Ash grinned even wider when Raichu was knocked to the ground. It looked like the poison was doing its work. He knew that the Raichu was still more powerful than Nidorino – a single evolution without additional training wouldn't close the wide gap between the two pokemon, although it would definitely help to shrink it – but hopefully the poison would continue to work and keep the Raichu slow and unsteady.

"Horn attack!" He shouted. Nidorino twitched his ears – they were about the same size as they were as a Nidoran, although they looked far more proportional and less awkward on Nidorino's larger body – and charged. Ash hadn't been completely sure if Nidorino would know the move, although he was glad that he did.

The pokedex entry on Nidorino – he had looked up almost everything about the Nidoran line and memorized it – had said that they instinctually knew the attack in order to take full advantage of their incredibly powerful horn. Of course, the attack came with an added bonus when used by Nidorino. If the attack hit a susceptible area, the horn would inject a powerful poison into the foe's body. It would be much more potent than that of a Nidoran's poison.

"Dodge it and use thunderbolt again." Surge snapped, finally regaining his senses. "Keep away from it."

Although Surge had recovered from the shock of seeing Nidoran evolve, Raichu was still stunned from the powerful focus kick. It was pulling itself up, but Ash knew that it wouldn't be able to avoid Nidorino's charge.

A few moments later, Nidorino hit the slowly recovering Raichu. Ash cheered for his friend as Raichu was sent flying from the force of the attack, but quickly began giving his friend orders again.

"Focus kick again. Follow with horn attack."

Nidorino charged at Raichu again before forcing himself upwards with his strong legs. His feet glowed as he landed on Raichu's battered body. The helpless mouse was sent sprawling onto its back. Although the mouse tried to recover – Surge's wild shouts at it to get up probably helped motivate it – and had even managed to pull itself up again it was quickly bowled over by Nidorino's ruthless charge.

Even Ash had to wince as Raichu was sent flying, its body going limp as the combination of the powerful poison coursing through its veins and Nidorino's powerful, brutal attacks finally took its toll on the mouse.

He looked up at Surge, who looked as stunned as Ash currently felt.

"Wha – how?" He said, unable to comprehend his loss. "I lost? To a kid?"

Ash couldn't exactly blame him for being so shocked. He certainly hadn't expected himself to make such a great comeback, not when Surge's powerful Raichu had been close to knocking Nidoran out without even breaking a sweat.

Then he realized something. He had won. He had won and Nidoran had finally evolved.

"Come here, buddy!" He shouted in glee. Nidorino looked over and trotted over to Ash, who quickly knelt down and patted his head, although he carefully avoided the long, sharp horn. It was still leaking clear, potent poison. "You did great! Raichu never even had a chance."

Nidorino snorted and pushed his head up against Ash's hand. Ash smiled and patted him some more before he moved his hand upwards to scratch his friend behind his sensitive ears. He made sure to avoid the new spikes and barbs that had come with the evolution, although they were starting to lower now that the battle was over.

Although most of Nidorino's wounds appeared to have been healed by the evolution, Ash could see large bruises and mottled areas on his friend's tough skin. Apparently evolving didn't completely heal injuries. He would have to get the wounds checked out at the Pokemon Center as soon as possible.

He scratched Nidorino a few more times before he stood back up and returned his friend to his pokeball. Nidorino growled happily one last time before the scarlet energy engulfed him and brought him into the ball. Ash attached it to his belt before turning back to Lt. Surge.

Who, as it happened, was only a few feet away from him. Ash jumped in surprise – how was such a large man so quiet? He quickly calmed down and met Surge's eyes. The younger trainer noticed that Surge was cradling Raichu in one of his massive arms.

Ash half-expected Surge to punch him in the face for embarrassing him and hurting Raichu so badly. So he was rather surprised to see that the man had a wide grin on his face and held out his hand. The trainer carefully shook the gym leader's hand, wincing when Surge nearly crushed it.

"Good job!" Surge roared. "I haven't lost since I was given the order to go all out on every challenger. You've got talent!"

He smiled at the praise. But something bothered him.

"Thanks. But why would the League tell you to stop holding back? No one's getting the badge anymore."

Surge's wide grin reminded Ash of pictures he'd seen of a sharpedo. "You know those tickets for that cruise ship I have to give out to anyone who beats me? The League only wanted the best to get onto that ship for some reason. I'm not complaining. It's good to see the runts that think they can beat me get sent off with their tails between their legs."

Ash nodded, not really sure how to respond. Surge laughed again before fishing around in one of his pockets. He pulled out the Thunder Badge and a wadded up piece of paper.

"Here's your ticket." Surge said loudly, presenting Ash with the crumpled piece of paper. Ash took it carefully. It looked like it had been in that coat for a long time. "It's a little crumpled, but that shouldn't be a problem. Just give it to the guy in front of the boat. It'll be here in a few days, I think. And here's your badge. Don't lose it."

"Thanks." Ash said gratefully as he pocketed the ticket and badge.

"Alright then." Surge muttered. "Are your runt friends going to battle me? Because I've got to get Raichu to the Center. She's pretty beat up."

Ash nodded. Surge had that same grin on his face as he eyed the duo.

"They don't look like a challenge. Tell them to come back in an hour or two. Raichu'll be ready to beat their pokemon into unconsciousness by then."

The younger trainer nodded again. Surge didn't look at him again as the gigantic man swept out of the gym, carrying Raichu like a baby.

One of the gym trainer's came up to him. The other was walking over to Jonathan and Amelia.

"Alright, you've got the badge." The tall trainer growled. "Now get out before Surge gets back. He doesn't have time to babysit you."

Ash rolled and his eyes and nodded. This trainer wasn't intimidating compared to Surge. Nevertheless, he left the gym with his friends in tow.

He winced at the bright light that assaulted the group as they left the gym, but quickly grew used to it. Ash waved his friends' congratulations away as they slipped through the crowded city. All he wanted to do was get Nidorino to the Pokemon Center. His friend had done great at the gym and he wanted him fixed up as soon as possible.

XX

Ash ended up not returning to the gym with his friends. Nurse Joy had told him that they would need to hold Nidorino for several hours to make sure he hadn't suffered any complications from evolving after such a beating. She said that if bones or tissues were damaged right before evolution the pokemon could be permanently weakened from the misplaced systems, although it could be easily corrected if caught quickly.

It was extremely rare, but Ash wasn't about to take any risks with his friend. Nurse Joy would need his permission to do anything for Nidoran unless it was life threatening, so he decided to stay there just in case something needed to be done.

Jonathan and Amelia went to the gym at his urging. They were disappointed that he wouldn't be joining them for their battles, but he didn't want them to have to wait to battle Surge. He didn't think that either of them would beat Surge on their first try – he had only won because Nidoran had evolved at an extremely fortuitous time, and he was much better than either of his friends – but the first battle would show them just how far they would need to go before defeating Surge.

Ash sighed and relaxed. All of his pokemon were out, something that he was afraid he wouldn't be able to do in such a densely populated city. A small aquarium to his side was placed in the room for Torrent, who was darting back and forth in the container. Plume sat on the back of the chair he was reclining in, cleaning herself and smoothing out her feathers. An unhappy Nidorino – covered in monitoring devices that would let Nurse Joy know if she needed to fix anything – sat by his feet.

Nidorino butted his large head against his hand, causing the trainer to idly scratch behind his friend's ears. The pokemon had been trying to tear the small pads and devices that were monitoring his functions and chemical levels off all night, so Ash was happy to give Nidorino some sort of distraction.

Plume chirped loudly – its size caused the noise to sound more like a rumble – and gently pecked Ash's hat in an attempt to get attention. Ash rolled his eyes and gently stroked Plume's bright plumage. She cooed happily at the affection.

Torrent splashed frantically in an attempt to get his attention, his small eyes focused on the bag of food that Ash had bought for him. Ash smiled and poured some food into the aquarium. The horsea quickly sucked it in through his snout before calming down.

The smile stayed on his face as his pokemon continued to vie for his attention. It was nice to finally relax and be around his friends.

XX

He was asleep when Jonathan and Amelia knocked on his door. Ash sleepily opened up his eyes and stood up, gently pushing Nidorino – who was already alert, his hearing not diminished by the evolution – off of his feet. The trainer stretched for a moment before walking over to the door. He had fallen asleep in the chair and was feeling rather stiff.

"Wait a minute." He said to his friends as they knocked on the door again. At least he assumed it was his friends. No one else had a reason to knock on his door since Nurse Joy could just call him from the video phone in the room.

Ash yawned as he opened the door, revealing the forms of his friends. He wasn't sure what time it was, but he wanted to get this over with and go back to sleep.

"What do you guys want? Did you win?"

Judging from the expressions on their faces, they hadn't. Ash wanted to be sympathetic to them, he really did, but couldn't see why this couldn't have waited till morning. And – considering that there was no light at all coming through the blinds – he doubted that it was morning.

Jonathan spoke up first. "…No. He kind of curbstomped us. That raichu of his beat Charmander with two attacks. I was actually kind of hoping that he would evolve in the middle of the battle like Nidoran did."

"That's not good." Ash muttered. "So you both lost?"

"Yeah." Amelia growled. "Bulbasaur was beaten by one thundershock! He should have been resistant to it. I guess I haven't been focusing on his training as much as I should have."

"Why didn't you use Rattata?" Ash asked curiously. "He's a lot more aggressive than Bulbasaur and you've managed to perfect his hyper fang."

Amelia frowned. "I saw what that Raichu did to Nidoran in just a few hits. Nidoran is tougher than Rattata, so I didn't think that he would be able to take a single hit without being knocked out. But I might have to use him next time. Sometimes the best defense is a good offense."

Ash and Jonathan nodded. The trainer turned back to his friends.

"Look, I'm sorry that you lost. But could you guys leave? I'm about to pass out. We can go train tomorrow."

Jonathan and Amelia agreed and apologized for waking him up before they left. Ash sighed when they left and closed the door. He wasn't sure what he would do tomorrow while they battled other trainers.

He needed to get Nidorino used to his new form if it turned out nothing was wrong. Torrent needed to be worked out – they hadn't had many opportunities to do so on the way to Vermillion, although he fought a few times in ponds or rivers –and he wanted to see if he could get Plume to evolve. She was close to it and seemed to be getting more aggressive lately.

Ash shook the thoughts away. He just wanted to sleep. All of the important things could wait until tomorrow.

The trainer ignored the bed and reclaimed his position next to his friends. In a few minutes he was unconscious. This time he wasn't woken up until morning.

XX

The group found themselves in the wilderness outside Vermillion the next day. It was rather cool outside, but it wasn't storming or freezing like it had been on the way to the city. Trainers were practically everywhere – Ash had been challenged several times since leaving the city, and quickly won all of the battles thanks to Nidorino's new strength – and he was getting annoyed by the lack of peace.

Ash had split off from Amelia and Jonathan. They had decided to spend the day battling trainers and toughening their pokemon up – both of his friends were hoping for at least one of their pokemon to evolve today – while Ash had decided to go out and search for another member of the team. He had heard that there was a wide variety of pokemon around Vermillion.

But for now he was just relaxing. He had managed to find a relatively remote area away from the masses of trainers battling each other and only had to defeat a few challengers that had wandered into his spot before he was able to take a nap.

Plume was settled in one of the sturdy branches above him and was raptly glancing around the clearing. Torrent was lazily swimming around the small pond next to the clearing he had found. A few other pokemon had been in it when they'd arrived, but Torrent had quickly driven them off.

Nidorino was sitting next to his leg. He had been deemed perfectly fine by Nurse Joy earlier in the morning and was happy to test his new strength against challengers. For now, however, he was content to simply rest with the others. His ears remained tense and twitched whenever he heard a far off noise.

Ash didn't notice any of this as he fell asleep, his eyes closing almost against his will as he leaned back against a tree. He didn't think anything of it – his pokemon would keep him safe from any possible threat.

XX

He didn't know what woke him up. Ash knew he didn't hear anything, but he could feel a slight itching around his nose. The trainer groaned in annoyance and opened his eyes.

Ash wished he hadn't.

A short, round creature with a yellow torso and brown midsection and legs stared at him. It had tired looking eyes and a short trunk was slightly above its mouth. Ash stared at its face for a moment in shock – it was only a few inches away from him.

Then he reacted. Ash forced himself up – making sure to keep away from the drowzee, as he had identified the pokemon – and jumped away. The drowzee stared at him with tired eyes and raised its claw. The trainer glanced away in order to avoid the drowzee's hypnosis and frantically searched for his pokemon.

There were no identified cases of a drowzee so much as hurting a human, much less killing one. They were generally extremely peaceful, and only ventured to human settlements or approached humans in order to feed – a process that took nothing but a dream from the human it found.

But Ash didn't want to be around a wild pokemon without his own being there to protect him. All pokemon were dangerous and could accidentally hurt someone without even realizing it. He didn't want to risk anything.

Fortunately, he found his friends rather quickly. Unfortunately, they were all asleep.

Nidorino was lazily sprawled on the ground, sleepily pawing the ground as he dreamed. Plume had her head buried under her wing. Torrent, however, was still awake. Ash could see that whatever the drowzee had done was either wearing off or hadn't taken full effect, as Torrent's eyes were still half-closed but were slowly rising.

"Torrent!" Ash shouted. Although for a second he feared his attempt at waking the horsea up had failed, that fear vanished when Torrent's eyes suddenly snapped open. Torrent glanced up at him questioningly, but turned toward drowzee when the creature made a loud wheezing noise.

Something within Torrent shifted. His eyes narrowed and the calm that Ash and the other pokemon had instilled into him vanished, replaced by the rage and love of battle that Ash had seen when he first captured him.

The drowzee didn't have a chance to react before Torrent fired a water gun at it. Ash took his chance to come up with a strategy and act on it as the drowzee toppled over. Torrent continued firing water guns, although the drowzee resisted them now that it was aware of the threat Torrent posed.

Ash saw his bag a few feet away from the drowzee and took his chance. He dashed behind the occupied drowzee and quickly knelt down and sifted through it, frantically searching for a pokeball. The trainer glanced back at the battle as he unzipped the section that held his shrunk pokeballs.

Torrent was being hypnotized. Drowzee was holding his arms up. Pink energy was floating off of its body and energy was forming into a transparent that gently swayed back and forth in front of Drowzee's body. The pink energy was forming into a bright purple energy. Several flew towards Torrent, striking the hypnotized horsea.

He quickly turned back to his bag and withdrew a pokeball, tapping it in order to prime it. When he turned back, he noticed that Drowzee – who looked to have been badly weakened by the brief fight with Torrent, showing that it hadn't been ready for the battle – was staring and pointing at him. Ash glanced to see what had happened to Torrent and was shocked when he saw that his horsea was staring at him with emotionless, glowing purple eyes.

Torrent was rearing his head back when Ash took his chance. He hurled the pokeball at Drowzee, stunning it for a moment as the pokeball bounced off. A moment later Drowzee was transformed into scarlet energy and sucked into the pokeball. Ash glanced at his friend and was relieved to see that he had snapped out of whatever mind control Drowzee had placed him under.

Ash didn't even bother to look at the pokeball, instead opting to shout out to his other pokemon. Drowzee's power over Torrent had been broken when it was pulled into the ball, so perhaps the hypnosis he had placed onto Plume and Nidorino had been broken as well.

His theory turned out to be correct. Nidorino sleepily got up and looked up at Ash, while Plume immediately snapped to attention and prepared to attack whatever was in the pokeball. When Nidorino realized that there was a threat his ears grew rigid and his long barbs and spines extended out of his back, dripping potent poison.

For a few tense seconds they waited. Judging from how frantically the pokeball was shaking, Drowzee didn't want to be captured. Ash moved away from the shaking ball and prepared to command his pokemon. He tapped another ball to prime it.

Finally, the pokeball stopped shaking and clicked, confirming Drowzee's capture. Ash carefully picked up the ball, but before he released the most recent addition to the team he looked at his friends.

"Get ready to restrain Drowzee if it tries to attack. Be careful not to let it hypnotize you. Knock it out if you have to but don't hurt it." He said tersely. His friends grunted in acceptance of the order.

Ash tapped the button, releasing Drowzee. It warily glanced at the surrounding pokemon before settling its gaze on Ash. He thought that it dearly wanted to attack the group, but apparently it was too concerned for its safety to attack a group of three angry pokemon and their trainer.

"Hey, Drowzee." Ash said slowly. Drowzee continued to stare at him. Its trunk twitched. "You're a part of my team now, alright. We're teammates. So don't try to hypnotize us."

Drowzee's eyes narrowed, but didn't seem to be angry. Ash didn't like not being able to read its emotions very well. It continued to stand absolutely still, but Ash knew it wasn't trying to use its powers. Even the most powerful psychics had to manifest their abilities through some way – a movement or twitch, although sometimes it only showed itself through glowing eyes or other body parts – and Drowzee was far from their ranks.

Ash slowly took out the pokedex and aimed it at the frozen drowzee. If it found annoyance with his actions it did not display them. The pokedex scanned Drowzee for a moment before giving Ash its summary.

"_Drowzee. The Hypnosis Pokemon_." The pokedex stated. "_It puts enemies to sleep, then eats their dreams. Occasionally gets sick from eating bad dreams. _

_This pokemon currently knows the moves: Hypnosis, disable, confusion, poison gas, and meditate. Its ability is Insomnia, which prevents the pokemon from sleeping_."

It had a good move set. Ash scanned the future moves it could learn on the pokedex and was impressed by the amount, even if there wasn't much variety. He could supplement it with TM's if he had to.

He also took the opportunity to determine Drowzee's gender. He didn't want to refer to Drowzee as an 'it' any longer than he had to. The pokedex said that Drowzee was female.

"So," he said with a smile, "do you want to go train? I want to see just what you can do."

Drowzee didn't respond in any way, instead opting to turn around and sit. Ash stared at Drowzee's back in bemusement. Had she just ignored him?

He looked helplessly at her before glancing to his friends. Torrent made some noise that Ash recognized as his growl and shot a bubblebeam – intentionally weakened, Ash could see – at Drowzee. Drowzee didn't react as the glowing bubbles hit her, instead glancing over at Torrent with glowing blue eyes.

Torrent's eyes turned blue as well and he unsteadily swam over to a rock, which he attached himself to before Drowzee released her control over him. Ash looked at Drowzee with barely concealed fear at the casual way in which she controlled Torrent.

Nidorino seemed to have had enough. Confident in his new power, he extended his barbs and charged at Drowzee with his horn lowered. Ash tried to shout at his friend to stop, but Nidorino had already been taken over by Drowzee, who didn't even bother looking at him.

Unfortunately for Drowzee, Nidorino knew confusion as well. Although it was much weaker than any true psychic pokemon's power and was only due to genetics, it still gave Nidorino the ability to resist Drowzee's ability to a limited degree. His friend refused to move, instead resolutely glaring at Drowzee.

Plume quickly moved to assist Nidorino. She screamed out a challenge for Drowzee before using quick attack, slamming into Drowzee before the slow pokemon could react and weakening its focus. Nidorino quickly broke free of Drowzee's control and tackled it – Ash could see that, despite his anger, Nidorino took care not to stab it with his horn or poison Drowzee – which knocked his newest pokemon to the ground.

Nidorino leapt back and prepared to tackle Drowzee again as she got up, but Ash intervened.

"Nidorino, enough!" He said sternly. "If Drowzee wants to ignore me, that's fine. She's on this team whether she likes it or not. But we won't force her to listen through fear or intimidation. Just leave her alone."

His friend looked down and nodded. Ash sighed and looked at Plume. The large bird had her head hidden under her wing and wasn't looking at him. Torrent had left the rock and was bobbing up and down with the waves. The horsea seemed to have a newfound respect for Ash, judging by his stare.

"Alright, let's go." Ash sighed. "I think we've worn out our welcome here. We should get some exploring in before it gets dark."

He quickly returned Drowzee – she wouldn't follow him anyways and would only slow them down – and Torrent. Plume took off into the air above the trees. Ash could just barely see the large bird flying through the branches and leaves. Nidorino nuzzled his hand, seeking forgiveness.

Ash gladly scratched behind his ears before setting off. They had a lot to do and even more to see.

XX

That night they stood in Ash's room at the Pokemon Center. He had gotten back several hours ago, but Jonathan and Amelia had just returned from their long day of battling. Both were exhausted but pleased with their efforts.

"So what did you do all day?" Jonathan asked in between bites. He and Amelia had brought their food from the cafeteria into Ash's room.

"Not much." Ash shrugged as he leaned back in the chair. All of his pokemon were in the same positions as last night, although he hadn't released Drowzee yet. He wanted her to be a surprise. "I walked around, relaxed, battled a few people. I caught a pokemon a few hours in."

Amelia and Jonathan snapped up. "What kind?" She asked. "We didn't see any wild pokemon. I think the trainers scared them all off."

"A Drowzee." Ash stated proudly. "She tried to eat my dreams while I took a nap and put my pokemon to sleep. We managed to beat her though and caught her pretty easily."

He pulled out Drowzee's pokeball and tapped the button, releasing the sullen pokemon. Jonathan and Amelia jumped back when they saw the creature, although they soon began to examine the frozen pokemon with interest.

"It…doesn't look very happy." Amelia stated. Jonathan nodded in agreement. "Does it move?"

Ash shrugged. "I know that she moves, but she won't obey me. She just stands there."

Amelia hummed. "Did you try battling it again? Sometimes they only respect you if they're badly beaten by one of your pokemon."

"No." Ash said sharply. "I'm not going to hurt Drowzee unless there's no other way. There's another way to get her to respect me. I just haven't found it yet."

His friend shrugged and backed down. Jonathan spoke up.

"All of our pokemon got a lot stronger. Charmander evolved and Rhyhorn is finally able to remember more than one command." He stated proudly. "Plus Rattata and Bulbasaur evolved!"

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Three of your pokemon evolved in one day? That's incredible!"

"Yeah." Amelia responded. "They were all really close to evolving. All they needed was one extra push. Tomorrow we're going to beat Surge. Are you going to be there?"

"Of course." Ash said. "Nidorino is completely fine and I don't think I can do anything for Drowzee anytime soon. Besides, I already missed your first match. I want to be there when you both win."

His friends smiled. "Alright then," Jonathan announced, "we're going to leave. We need to get some rest before going to the gym. See you later."

"Bye." Ash said. His friends left the room. He was quiet for a moment before going to shut the slightly ajar door and turning back to his pokemon. "So, are you guys ready for bed?"

Nidorino was already asleep – he was exhausted from the long day of travelling and the numerous battles he had taken part in – so couldn't respond. Drowzee just continued to stare at the wall, completely ignoring him. Plume chirped and fluttered over to his shoulder, causing him to sag a bit before recovering from the additional weight. Torrent was sleeping in his aquarium.

Ash gently stroked Plume's bright plumage – eliciting a pleased chirp from the bird – before pointing at her large perch. She quickly followed his order and fluttered over to the perch. He smiled at her before heading to bed.

He suspected that tomorrow would be an exciting day.

XX

The next morning they found themselves in the gym. Ash had immediately gone to the observation box after greeting Surge. Jonathan followed him since Amelia had won the coin flip that would determine which of them got to battle Surge first.

He made idle chatter with Jonathan, although he only really paid attention when the battle started. Ash stopped talking when the two gym trainers that constantly flanked Surge joined them in the box.

Amelia sent out Ivysaur – who looked to be about average for the species – first. Ivysaur squared itself as Surge sent out Raichu – who, Ash noticed, hadn't lost any of its arrogance from its defeat. Raichu looked to still be injured from his match with Nidorino, as he was limping and looked far weaker than it had when he fought it. Nevertheless, Raichu and Surge projected confidence that couldn't be matched.

Ash quickly identified Amelia's strategy. Ivysaur wasn't very fast, but was reasonably durable and could take quite a bit of punishment from Raichu's electrical attacks. Although he was being pummeled by Raichu at first, Amelia had Ivysaur inflict numerous status conditions – she used stunspore, leech seed, and poison powder on it whenever it came near – before finally going on the offensive.

Even with the disadvantages, Raichu nearly beat Ivysaur due to Surge's experience and skill and its own brutal power. It remained standing for five minutes after the status conditions were inflicted on it and only seemed slightly slowed down, although it was clear to see that Raichu had lost much of its stamina and strength.

It still fell after a particularly damaging technique that Amelia seemed to favor – picking her opponents up with vine whip and either slamming them repeatedly into the ground or hurling them across the arena – forced the badly weakened Raichu into unconscious.

Ivysaur collapsed the moment the battle was over. Ash could see the bruised, discolored patches all over his body as well as singed areas left from the lightning Raichu had used. Even though Ivysaur was moderately resistant to it and Raichu had lost much of its power, Raichu was still powerful enough to cause major harm with only a few of its attacks.

Amelia quickly collected her badge from Lt. Surge – who looked annoyed at her strategy and victory – and joined Ash in the observation box. Jonathan gulped as Amelia walked in, although Ash and Amelia both wished him luck.

Jonathan sent out Charmeleon. The lizard was large for its breed and seemed to have kept the same personality it had had as a Charmander. It was just as docile and didn't seem to have gained the aggression that Charmeleon were famed for.

When it saw the small Pikachu Surge sent out, Charmeleon bared his teeth and forced his tail to blaze up. Ash glanced away from the bright flame for a moment before returning his gaze to the battle. Pikachu didn't back down from Charmeleon's challenge, instead opting to glare at the lizard and release small arcs of electricity from its cheeks.

While he knew it wasn't as powerful as Raichu, Ash could tell that this would be a difficult battle. That Pikachu was a fighter and wouldn't back down until it was beaten senseless.

Surge made the first move. "Quick shock."

Pikachu blurred towards Charmeleon with a quick attack and struck him before using a weak thunder shock. It didn't do much damage, but it stunned Charmeleon for a second. The mouse used the opportunity to skitter away.

"Dragon rage!" Jonathan shouted. Charmeleon blasted Pikachu with purplish flames, although the mouse dodged the attack due to Surge's warning.

Surge continued to use the quick shock combination, something that exasperated Jonathan and caused him to begin losing his temper. Ash groaned when he saw Jonathan finally snap. It was likely what Surge had been waiting for.

"Blast that Pikachu!" He shouted to Charmeleon. Charmeleon waved its tail around in the air and caused its flame to grow large. Ash took his hat off as the temperature grew much higher and could already feel the sweat coming.

Ash saw that Pikachu was being forced to stay away, although it was still firing thunder shocks at Charmeleon at the behest of Surge. When the air grew hot enough to keep the Pikachu from stunning Charmeleon with another quick shock, Charmeleon reared his head back.

An inferno erupted from its maw. It wasn't focused and wasn't a specific attack – the lack of control and lack of concentration made it weaker than a flamethrower or other concentrated fire attack – but it was still powerful and engulfed a wide area.

Charmeleon continued spewing fire around the gym for nearly thirty seconds. Ash was completely blinded by the powerful flames and had to cover his eyes. The temperature was becoming nearly unbearable, although it wasn't dangerous in the least.

The inferno finally ended. Charmeleon looked completely exhausted but still searched the area for Pikachu. Ash quickly found Pikachu, its small form unconscious. It would be fine after a rest, but for now it looked awful. Pikachu's fur was singed, but didn't seem to have any outstanding injuries from being caught in the blaze.

Ash put his hat back on and stared at the tired Charmeleon in awe. He didn't know if even Nidorino could stand up to the raw power that Charmeleon had displayed. Nidorino was certainly powerful and versatile, but Ash doubted that he could defeat Charmeleon easily in a straight fight.

He was quiet as Jonathan triumphantly claimed his badge and shook Surge's hand. Surge seemed to respect those that defeated him with power more than those that had done so with status conditions and trickery.

Still, he wasn't sure how Jonathan would have fared against Raichu. Pikachu was obviously well-trained, but it wasn't the kind of pokemon that Surge seemed to work best with – overwhelmingly powerful and fast enough to avoid most attacks. The mouse took a bit longer to react to Surge's commands as well and didn't blend well with Surge's strategy.

Oh well, a win was a win. Ash congratulated him as his friend returned. They were quickly herded out of the gym by Surge's trainers and returned to the Pokemon Center. Ivysaur and Charmeleon might have won, but they were both exhausted and – in Ivysaur's case – battered from their opponents.

The rest of the day was spent eating and relaxing. Jonathan and Amelia both went over their individual battles and gave each other recommendations on how to do better. Ash spent most of the time thinking about how he could get Drowzee to respect him. He wanted the psychic type to warm up to the team and fit in.

And until Drowzee respected him, it would be alienated from the rest of his adoring pokemon. Ash really didn't want that.

They had a week until they could board the St. Anne and travel to Fuschia. He was going to make the most of this free time.

XX

The next week went by extremely fast, almost as if it happened at an accelerated rate. None of the group trained particularly hard, instead opting to relax and enjoy the rare peace.

Amelia and Ash made sure to secure their tickets in a safe place. Jonathan did the same with the ticket that had got from Bill and sold the other ticket for a good bit of cash. The St. Anne was a very famous vessel and there were plenty of people willing to pay a lot for the opportunity to be on the ship.

They still trained, of course. Few of the trainers that hung around Vermilion were willing to battle them again due to the rapidly growing reputation and skill of the trainers. Not many people had defeated Surge since he was cut loose by the League, and when people realized that they were the ones that had defeated him, they either challenged them or left the area.

No more evolutions took place, although Plume and Torrent were obviously nearing the limit. They were growing in power rapidly and were becoming stronger and more efficient with their attacks.

Soon, however, they wouldn't be able to improve. There were limits on how powerful unevolved pokemon could become. Their bodies just weren't capable of growing past a certain point.

At least that was what an old, experienced trainer – he was one of the few that had defeated Ash – had told him. Ash remembered the words, although he wasn't completely sure about their veracity.

But today the St. Anne had arrived at Vermillion. The group had watched it come in early in the morning, although they left when they realized that it would be a few hours before they could get on it.

The St. Anne was an impressive ship, even if Ash knew absolutely nothing about boats. He couldn't have imagined a ship being so massive. It was dozens of times larger than even the pictures of wailords that he had seen, or even gyarados. The trainer couldn't understand how it managed to float.

They had rushed back to the Pokemon Center after it came into port and packed their things. All of them made sure that they had their tickets secured before going to the cafeteria. None of the group ate very much. Amelia had read the informational packet going around Vermillion and heard that the St. Anne would have a feast later that night. Ash couldn't wait.

Before they had left for the ship – they were going to get there a few minutes early in order to be the first ones on board – Ash had made sure to call his mom. He had made sure to call her every night while he stayed at the Pokemon Center, but figured that he might not be able to call her again for a few nights.

But now they were standing in the front of the long line that would grant them entry into the ship. He'd been annoyed when quite a few people had already been waiting in the line when the group arrived, but Ash had put it out of his mind. They wouldn't have to wait too long.

And now, half an hour later, they were finally being processed.

"Tickets, please." A tall, clean-shaven sailor said to them. Ash held out their three tickets and handed them to the sailor. The man scanned them with some sort of device. When it was determined that they were legitimate, he smiled at them.

"Go ahead. Your rooms are BD98 and BD99." He said to the group. "One of your tickets isn't from the Vermillion gym, so one of you will be staying in FC76. Directions can be found on any part of the ship. If you require assistance, there are numerous personnel you can ask for help. Have a pleasant stay."

"Thanks." The group said in unison as they took their tickets. They walked until they found a reasonably open area. Ash led them to a corner.

Amelia looked at them. "Alright." She began. "Who's going to go to the other room? It sounds like its first class, especially since Jonathan got his ticket from that researcher. Jonathan, are you going to stay in it? It's your ticket, after all."

Jonathan didn't hesitate. "Nah. I don't want to be alone."

"Well, can't we all just stay in it?" Ash asked. If it was a first class room then it should be large enough for all of them to stay in.

"No." Amelia said with a shake of her head. "All of these rooms are made for one person. The pamphlet said that passengers had to specifically request rooms that could hold more than one person. We'd be cramped."

Ash sighed. "Do you want it, Amelia? I'm fine with being in normal quarters."

She shook her head. "I'd rather not be alone. You can have it."

He shrugged, although he was slightly disappointed that he'd be separated from his friends. But he was willing to take this one for the team. Maybe he'd get more food. That would definitely be a plus.

"Sounds fine. Anyways, let's go check out our rooms and put our stuff up. You guys want to meet up here in an hour? We have nearly eight hours before dinner and I heard that there's a pokemon tournament in the lower decks."

The others grinned and enthusiastically nodded. Ash bid the others goodbye and went to find his room. A map of the ship showed him where to go and he found himself there in no time at all. It was almost at the very top of the ship – just a stairway away from the deck.

Although the entire ship reeked of wealth and elegance, the section of the ship that Ash found himself in was the pinnacle of luxury. He doubted he would ever find himself in such a nice place ever again and was determined to enjoy it.

Still, he couldn't help but feel a little self-conscious as he strode through the halls. Few people were strolling around, but those that were had clothes on that probably cost as much as everything he owned. None seemed to look down upon him, but they did give him a few odd looks.

Not that he could blame them – he did stand out in his worn travelling outfit. It was a stark contrast to the refinement and wealth that surrounded him. The stains from hard travel were much different from the perfection surrounding him.

When he did find his room, however, he was amazed. It was the nicest place he had ever been in. The carpet covering the ground was thick and soft, while there were several areas for his pokemon. Three large beds that could easily fit a nidoking in them stood to the right, while a large aquarium encircled the room. Four massive perches extended from the sides of the room.

Expensive wooden furniture was scattered throughout the room, and a large, comfortable looking bed stood at the back. If it weren't for the fact he had to meet up with his friends in a few minutes he would have tried to go to sleep in it.

As it was, he left his small bag of equipment in the room. He wouldn't need it. All he needed were his pokeballs.

XX

An hour later he found himself facing an opponent in the large stadium that had been constructed below deck. The tournament offered substantial prizes for the people that made it to the Top Four, so it had attracted almost every trainer on board.

First place received ten thousand dollars and a mystery pokemon. Ash doubted it was anything special, but it would be nice to have another member for his team.

Second place received five thousand dollars and four of the newest Silph Co. products – ultra balls. They were said to be much more effective at catching pokemon than ordinary pokeballs and were valued much higher than the cash prize.

Third place received a thousand dollars and one ultra ball. Fourth place received a thousand dollars.

Ash didn't really care about the rewards though – he just wanted to win. He was one of the first matches and found himself facing a scrawny teenager with a pinched face.

The boy didn't say anything to him, instead quickly releasing a small raticate. Ash was glad that the teenager didn't try to engage him in banter and sent out Nidorino.

Nidorino snorted when he saw the raticate but prepared to charge. His long barbs extended, dripping clear, potent poison. Ash sprang into action the moment the referee let them go.

"Poison sting." He said tersely. Nidorino opened his mouth and fired multiple white darts at raticate. Although the other trainer shouted for his pokemon to avoid, Raticate was too slow and was struck by all of the barbs.

The poison worked quickly. It wouldn't knock the Raticate out for a while, but it was already slowing it down and draining its stamina. Raticate soon charged at Nidorino with a glowing fang after its trainer ordered it to use hyper fang.

"Focus kick." Ash said lazily. Nidorino roared as he tensed up for a moment – he was much faster at focusing his energy than he had been as a Nidoran, and was also quicker at producing his other attacks – and leapt high into the air.

Raticate never had a chance. Nidorino slammed his feet into the rat, knocking it out without suffering a single scratch. When he was sure that Raticate was unconscious, Nidorino scurried over to Ash. Ash laughed and scratched behind his friend's ears.

"Good match." He called to the teenager. The teen just recalled Raticate and growled at him. Ash shrugged and went to the heavily protected side of the arena.

He watched the tournament for more than an hour before he was called up again. Jonathan and Amelia had both won their matches. They had both fought rather weak trainers, just as he had. There was a noticeable discrepancy between the trainers in this tournament. Some looked to be beginners while others were quite powerful.

His next match was against a stocky man that looked to be in his thirties. Ash smiled at him and greeted him as they took their positions at the stadium. The man smiled and nodded at him before speaking.

"You've got talent, boy, but you aren't going to beat me!" The man proclaimed. "I've been training pokemon for years! Go, Vileplume."

Ash observed the large grass-type carefully for a moment, analyzing it. It was large for its species and looked to be well-trained. Vileplume was staring at him and was tensed up.

He didn't say anything back to the man, instead releasing Plume. Plume screamed her challenge to the Vileplume as she was released and puffed up her feathers in order to look more intimidating. Ash smiled as he heard the many admiring comments made about his friend.

"Go!" The referee shouted.

Ash didn't even have to say anything. Plume forced herself up into the air with her powerful wings and easily dodged the shower of poison Vileplume had blasted at her the moment the battle began.

"Gust." He muttered. Plume heard and flapped her wings at Vileplume, sending a powerful blast of air at the grass-type. Vileplume was too slow to avoid it and was knocked over.

"Get up!" The other trainer shouted frantically. "Use stun spore!"

"Fly."

Plume quickly dived. By the time Vileplume was beginning to pull itself back up she was upon her opponent. Ash watched carefully as Plume's talons raked Vileplume. The grass-type looked to be extremely fragile in the face of Plume's sharp talons.

"Sleep powder!" The other trainer shouted. Vileplume shook its body and released a sparkling purple powder out of its flower. It slowly wafted up through the air, although it would be a while before it reached Plume.

Ash rolled his eyes. The trainer didn't seem to be living up to the boasts he'd made. While Vileplume was certainly powerful and experienced, the trainer himself was making rookie mistakes. He wasn't trying to put any strategies together and was blatantly screaming his moves.

"Gust. Blow it back."

Plume screeched and flapped her wings. The powerful wind produced swept most of the poison powder – if it weren't so concentrated it never would have worked – back at Vileplume. It didn't poison Vileplume, but the powder irritated the grass type.

"Fly. Gust and wing attack if it stays up."

Vileplume had no chance to avoid Plume's attack. The bird barreled into the grass-type, raking it with her sharp talons for a second time before flying back up and using gust. When Vileplume – who was helpless against the attack – was knocked over, Plume flew down and slammed into the Vileplume with a brightly glowing wing.

That knocked the unfortunate grass-type out. Ash smiled at Plume as she excitedly flew back to him and landed on his shoulder and nodded at the other trainer. His opponent looked annoyed for a moment before nodding back.

He recalled Plume before sitting next to his friends in the stands. They congratulated him and clapped him on the back before returning their focus to the battlers.

XX

The next few rounds went well for him and Jonathan, but not so well for Amelia. She faced a rather powerful battler – he was experienced enough to easily command a Machamp – and was promptly defeated. Amelia was annoyed at her defeat, although she wasn't very bitter.

Now they were in the Top Four. He was also facing a rather unexpected opponent – Jonathan.

They had both been shocked when their names were called out, but both were eager to face the other. None of them had ever battled each other before, so this would be a great opportunity to test each other's strength. The gloating rights for whoever won were just an added incentive.

Although he knew that Jonathan was a much stronger trainer than most beginning trainers, Ash knew he was better. Jonathan had raw power – he had seen how strong Charmeleon was the previous week, and Rhyhorn was no slouch either – and was skilled, but relied too much on that power and never implemented many strategies. Combined with the fact that he had a tendency to lose his temper and had lost control of his emotions several times during previous battles made Ash feel confident.

Ash nodded at Jonathan as they sent their pokemon out. They both sent their starters, predictably enough.

Aside from Nidorino being the most powerful member of his team, Ash also knew that the others weren't ready for a match against Charmeleon's sheer strength. Plume was fast and tough, but she wouldn't be able to stand up to his flames or fight him when the lizard was even faster than she was. Torrent couldn't fight outside of water, although his type would let him beat the fire-type in most cases.

As for Drowzee…well, she still wouldn't follow orders.

He certainly understood why. Charmeleon was intelligent and powerful, and possessed the speed and strength to counter most of his pokemon. Rhyhorn wasn't very good for competitive battling – she was powerful, but too dumb to follow orders and could only remember two commands at a time.

Nidorino looked surprised when he saw the identity of his opponent but quickly tensed up and extended his barbs. Charmeleon seemed to have the pokemon equivalent to a grin on his face and rapidly swished his tail around, increasing the temperature around him.

"Go!"

"Poison sting." Ash said. Nidorino quickly launched the shower of barbs from his mouth, although Jonathan quickly countered it.

He seemed very relaxed as he battled Ash. "Burn it away." Jonathan said calmly. "Then blast Nidorino!"

"Dodge. Follow with confusion."

Nidorino quickly dodged the first blast of fire that consumed the poison sting, although he had slightly more difficulty with the massive inferno Charmeleon launched at him. Ash had to hide his eyes from the bright flame and was forced to trust in Nidorino's abilities.

Ash silently cheered for his friend when the flames cleared. Nidorino was completely unscathed – he had managed to run away and dodge the blast – and was currently staring at Charmeleon with glowing eyes.

Charmeleon was helpless to resist the psychic attack. He attempted to thrash against the mental energy – mostly due to his own pride and Jonathan's frantic shouts – but failed. Nidorino's eyes flashed even brighter for a moment when he forced Charmeleon higher and higher above the ground.

"Slam him. Follow it up with a horn attack." Ash said with a grin. Nidorino's eyes flashed again as he forced Charmeleon down to the ground as hard as he could with his meager psychic ability. Charmeleon was stunned for several seconds, giving Nidorino the opportunity to charge across the short distance separating them.

Jonathan seemed to realize that he might not win if Nidorino got up close. "Blast him again! Use fire tail!"

Ash wasn't sure what fire tail was – it must have been some secret technique Jonathan had developed in the days that Ash wasn't with him – but he didn't give Charmeleon a chance to use it. As the lizard was pulling itself up, Nidorino slammed into him with incredible force.

"Get up!" Jonathan screamed. "Use dragon rage or fire tail!"

"Use poison sting." Ash commanded. "Follow it up with horn attack."

Charmeleon recovered faster this time, although not quickly enough to avoid the poisonous darts that Nidorino aimed with perfect accuracy – accuracy resulting from untold amounts of battles with other trainers and hours spent training in the forest.

But he was fast enough to stop Nidorino's second charge. Charmeleon growled and turned around as Nidorino charged at him, slapping the poison-type to the side with his incredibly powerful tail. Ash wasn't too worried about Charmeleon's temporary advantage – he was already becoming sluggish and would be exhausted and weak within a minute or so.

"Slam." Ash commanded. Nidorino's ears twitched as he moved to attack Charmeleon again, although the lizard was still too fast and slashed at Nidorino's side. Charmeleon seemed to be becoming angry, and its rush of adrenaline was letting it counteract the poison for a short period.

It only worked out in Ash's favor. The accelerated heart rate would pump the poison through Charmeleon's veins even faster than before. Soon the lizard would be slow and weak enough for Nidorino to safely engage him in close combat.

"Charmeleon," Jonathan called out with a smirk. "Blast him."

Charmeleon reared its head back, but Ash already moved to stop the lizard from engulfing Nidorino in flames.

"Horn attack."

Nidorino bravely charged straight at Charmeleon and struck him a mere moment before he would have been caught in Charmeleon's blast of fire. Charmeleon was knocked onto his back, but Ash ordered Nidorino to back off. In less than thirty seconds Charmeleon would be too badly poisoned to fight back.

Unfortunately, Ash had forgotten about Charmeleon's ability, Blaze.

Jonathan hadn't. He grinned when Charmeleon forced itself back up, its eyes glowing a vivid, bloody red. Charmeleon was wreathed in flames and didn't seem affected by Nidorino's poison or previous attacks at all.

"Charmeleon!" Jonathan smirked. "Blast him."

Charmeleon didn't disappoint. He released a gigantic, white blast of flame from his mouth. Nidorino was completely engulfed in it, causing Ash to be tempted to call the battle off. Bragging rights weren't worth Nidorino being seriously hurt.

But Nidorino surprised him yet again. Using his newfound endurance and resilience, the poison-type sprinted through the hot flame and slammed into Charmeleon, knocking the fire-type over. Ash took the opportunity.

"Horn attack!" He shouted. Nidorino's ears twitched, showing that he heard the order even above the din of the roaring crowd.

Nidorino quickly performed the attack on the downed lizard. Ash could see that Charmeleon had been knocked unconscious by the blow. Its body had only been temporarily revitalized by its ability, not truly healed.

Jonathan looked dumbfounded as he returned Charmeleon. Ash just grinned at him and waved before calling Nidorino over.

His friend was bruised and slightly burnt, leaving Nidorino's entire body tender. Ash wasn't worried about the damage. Even without any medical aid the injuries would be gone in a day or so. Pokemon were much tougher and healed much faster than any human. Nidorino were even more resilient than most.

"Good job, buddy." Ash whispered as he gingerly patted his friend's head. Nidorino wouldn't be seriously hurt by the injury, but he would definitely be sore for a few days. "I'll make sure to get you some food tonight."

Nidorino growled softly before Ash recalled him. Ash glanced at Jonathan as the other boy walked back to their spot in the stands. He followed a few moments later.

He didn't go back to their seats, instead opting for a closer view. Ash would be in the final battle in just a few minutes and didn't want to have maneuver through the masses of people in the stands.

XX

His next opponent was the trainer that had beaten Amelia. Ash wasn't expecting to win this battle.

Anyone that managed to keep a Machamp firmly under control – or anyone that managed to train one at all, really – had to be incredibly powerful and experienced. And this wasn't a Machamp that had been quickly evolved from a Machoke. It was massive. The Machamp stood even taller than most of its kin and looked even bulkier. There was no way it was a weaker, more rapidly evolved Machamp.

And he had nothing to fight it with. Even if any of his pokemon besides Drowzee were effective against it, they simply weren't powerful enough to face a Machamp.

The Machamp was much faster than Plume and too strong to risk sending her out against. Torrent was out of the question – he was too delicate and there wasn't any water around to begin with. Nidorino was too beaten to even consider using.

That left Drowzee. He consigned himself to defeat as he sent the rebellious psychic out. Drowzee looked bored as she stared at the Machamp, only glancing back at him once. Ash wanted to close his eyes and turn around. This was going to be quick.

"Go!" The referee shouted.

His opponent – a massive man that looked to have trained with his Machamp, judging from the absurd amount of muscle he possessed – looked at Ash with something resembling pity.

"Sorry, mate." He said with a lazy drawl. "This is gonna be a fast one. Machamp, dynamic punch."

Drowzee sat down when she heard the order. Ash just groaned in defeat as the Machamp sprang into action.

A ball of light formed around each of Machamp's fists before it charged the sitting Drowzee. It wasn't particularly fast as it ran towards the psychic, but Ash knew that it could launch punches faster than he could see.

"Hypnosis." He said. Drowzee glanced back at him once before calmly returning her gaze to Machamp. She wasn't going to listen to him, not even to keep herself safe.

And then Machamp was upon Drowzee. Ash could only track its fists for the first punch before Drowzee was knocked unconscious. Even though its attack didn't have type effectiveness on Drowzee, the punches it sent were so powerful that Drowzee couldn't resist them.

Ash sighed and returned Drowzee. He wasn't disappointed at losing the battle. It was expected when he was going up such a superior opponent. What disappointed him was that Drowzee refused to listen to him. She must really hate him.

He nodded back at the other trainer. His opponent didn't really seem happy to have won so easily – he looked like the type that wanted challenges.

The trainer glanced over at the referee, who was declaring Ash's opponent the champion of the tournament – Ash thought that the referee called him Brian. He called up Ash, the trainer that Brian had defeated, and Jonathan.

When they had all walked into the center of the arena, the referee began to announce the place they had achieved and what their prize would be.

Brian got the money and the pokemon. He released it in front of the entire stadium, so Ash was able to see what it was. Ash had to admit that he was surprised when a powerful looking scythe was released from the ball. He had been expecting some weak but rare pokemon, not one that was a valued piece of any team.

Ash was given the hefty collection of bills and a case containing his new ultra balls. The referee quietly warned him to take them to his room as quickly as possible. There were plenty of people willing to steal such rare items.

The third place contender was given the money and his ultra ball before being given the same warning as Ash. He noted that the referee didn't seem to care about anyone but the Top Two, at least judging by the disdainful glances the referee was giving to the third place winner and Jonathan.

Jonathan was handed his money. After that the referee – who was apparently in charge of the entire tournament – congratulated the winners again and thanked everyone for participating.

And after that, of course, was the mad rush by everyone to get out. They still had two hours before they needed to be at the banquet, but most of the crowd and trainers seemed to think that every second counted.

Ash and Jonathan just shrugged and stayed in the stadium. There was no way that they would be able to get through the crowd. Besides, both of them hated lines. It would be better to just wait here for a while than be trampled by the mad rush to get out.

Then Ash realized something.

"Hey." He said loudly. Jonathan looked at him, showing that he had heard him over the loud roar of the crowds talking. "How are you going to find Amelia again?"

Jonathan's eyes widened. "Oh. Damn it. I forgot about her."

Ash grinned at Jonathan's fear. The other boy was going to get a verbal chewing when he got back to the room. Amelia probably didn't like getting left in the crowd.

XX

Ash stared at the ultra balls in awe. He hadn't really thought of how they'd compare to an ordinary pokeball. They shared their shapes, but the ultra ball's design and coloring was just more…impressive, he supposed.

Something about the design just exuded an air of professionalism and elegance. Of course, that could just be an illusion created by his mind due to the fact that he was holding something that was more valuable than what most people owned.

He was dragged from his thoughts by Nidorino. His friend was relaxing on one of the beds – a potion bought at the built in Pokemart had healed the worst of the damage, although Nidorino was still exhausted – and stared at the door with erect ears.

Ash hastily put the ultra ball back into its case and placed the case under his bed. Nidorino didn't seem particularly worried, but it was better to be on the safe side. A few moments later he heard knocks on his door.

Nidorino still didn't seem worried, but Ash glanced at him and Plume. They both became more alert and looked ready to attack if anything happened.

He looked through the eyehole and relaxed. As he had expected, it was just his friends.

Ash let them through. They greeted him before continuing whatever argument he'd interrupted.

"Look, I'm telling you that it's not my fault!" Jonathan growled. Ash noticed that he had surprisingly nice clothes on. They weren't formal, but they were much nicer than the travelling clothes that Ash wore. "It's not like I could have run through the crowd just to find you."

"I know that." Amelia said. "But it's still annoying. It took me ages to find my way back to the room."

She was wearing nicer clothes as well, although they were in better condition than Jonathan's.

"Where'd you get those clothes?" He asked. Jonathan sighed as he was interrupted.

"My sister sent them to us through the PC." Amelia replied before looking around the room. "Wow, this is really nice. I kind of wish that I'd picked it."

Jonathan nodded in agreement. "Are you sure that you want to come to dinner with us? If I kept this room I would just sleep until we got to Vermillion. That bed looks great."

Ash grinned. "I'll get to enjoy it later. Right now, though, I'm starving. How much time have we got?"

Jonathan checked his watch. "We've got fifteen minutes. We should probably get going. I don't want to be late."

He shrugged. Although he would have liked to get his mom to send him some better clothes, he supposed it didn't really matter. Ash was a trainer. What difference did it make if he actually looked like one?

Ash quickly returned his pokemon and placed their balls on his belt. He walked over to his bed and pulled out the case that held his ultra balls. Even though he was sure that the room was secure, he just wanted to be careful.

"I'm ready." He announced as he picked up the case and captured it with one of his spare pokeballs. The pokeball could be reused later if he needed it. Besides, those ultra balls were much more important.

Jonathan nodded. "Let's go, then. I'm starving."

Ash could definitely sympathize with that. He kept up admirably as they raced to the banquet room, happily awaiting the opportunity to gorge on everything he saw.

XX

The banquet turned out to be one of the best things in Ash's life. It turned out that they had a practically unlimited amount of food to eat, something that he took full advantage of. Plus, it turned out that he wasn't alone in wearing dirty travelling clothes. Quite a few of the other trainers were dressed similarly to him.

He and Jonathan were honored along with the other high-placers in the tournament. Although none of them were acknowledge directly in the captain's brief speech, Ash hadn't thought that they'd be mentioned at all. The tournament was just a way to keep everyone busy, after all. It wasn't really competitive or important.

After about two hours, however, most people began to clear out. They were tired and full and had no desire to mingle anymore. Their group stayed in the banquet hall and continued to excitedly look around and talk to other trainers.

They all split up after a while, although at ten o'clock they all met back up at the entrance. By then Ash was exhausted and wanted to return to his room. He'd had an exciting day and wanted nothing more than to go to sleep.

But he wanted to say good night to his friends first. They were both still full of energy and were bouncing all over the place.

"Hey, Ash!" Jonathan called when he first spotted him. Ash smiled and waved back at him. Amelia was coming from his other side. They both arrived at him around the same time.

"What's up?" He asked. Jonathan looked rather pleased – the short boy had a wide grin on his face and had something in his pocket.

Jonathan grinned wider. "I just bought a pokemon off this guy. It was only five hundred dollars."

"Really?" Amelia asked with peaked interest. "What is it?"

"A magikarp." Jonathan said proudly.

Ash stared at him.

Amelia ended up being the one that broke the silence. "A magikarp?!" She sputtered, wildly waving her hands in the air. "You bought a magikarp? Why would you waste the money?"

Jonathan looked offended. "Hey, shut up! He's going to evolve into a gyarados soon, and then we'll see whose talking."

"It'll still be me." Amelia said drily. "That stupid fish isn't going to evolve. Magikarp take forever to train and you don't have the patience for it."

The boy growled in annoyance but didn't respond to Amelia's jab. Ash took the moment to interrupt their little spat, although he had to admit he didn't understand the decision either.

"Hey, guys, I'm going to bed." He said with a yawn. "I'm tired."

Both of them stared at him oddly, their argument forgotten.

"Really?" Jonathan asked in bemusement. "It's only ten. We were going to go explore the rest of the ship. Are you sure you don't want to come?"

Ash shook his head. "I'm fine. Just really tired. You guys go on without me – I already feel like a dead man walking."

Amelia shrugged. "Alright. I guess we'll see you in the morning, then."

He nodded tiredly and began to walk away. Before he left he heard Jonathan quietly ask Amelia a question.

"Are you sure that creepy Drowzee of his isn't screwing with his head? He's never this tired."

Ash frowned and ignored Amelia's retort. He rubbed his temples with his head. There was nothing wrong with him, he was just tired.

XX

He didn't know how long he was asleep in his bed. All he knew was that he was having very pleasant dreams, consisting of beating Gary, becoming Champion, and then becoming the most powerful Pokemon Master in the entire world.

His fantasy world was shattered by a loud knock on the door. He lazily opened his eyes and blinked a few times to unglue them. Ash yawned and stood up, ignoring the urge to climb back into his bed and ignore all external influences.

Ash figured it was just a crewmember coming to tell him it was morning or that they were going to be docking soon. The knocking sounded too heavy and powerful to belong to either of his friends. He stood on his toes to peer into the small glass.

He couldn't really see who it was, although he could see that they were wearing a black uniform. Since most of the crewmembers did wear dark-colored uniforms – he's only seen the actual sailors in white – he clumsily opened the door. Besides, he really just wanted to go back to sleep.

The trainer yawned again and looked up at his visitor. He was about to greet them when the words died in his mouth.

He stared at the Team Rocket grunt in confusion and terror for a moment before trying to run to his pokeballs. Ash barely made it into the room when the grunt grabbed him by the neck and slammed his face into the wall. The trainer grunted in pain as a short spike of pain flashed through his nose, although he didn't think it was broken.

Ash could feel hot liquid draining from his nose onto his face. He groaned in pain and tried to stand up, but his vision was swimming and blurred with tears. His muscles were weak and shaky from the stunning blow and he collapsed back down to the ground.

The trainer had to struggle not to fall unconscious. His vision was turning black at the edges, but he could see the grunt kneeling in front of him to take the pokeballs off of his belt. Ash tried to struggle, but his body stopped obeying his mind. He was helpless as the grunt carefully began to reach for the pokeballs.

Suddenly, the grunt turned his head as a fearsome roar erupted from the side. Ash saw that the grunt tried to take one of his own pokeballs, but was tackled to the ground by an enraged, protective Nidorino. He could see Plume screeching in the background and Torrent thrashing wildly in the aquarium in an attempt to escape.

His vision dimmed, but he saw Nidorino – fearsome and angrier than Ash had ever seen him before; his horn and barbs were dripping the clear, powerful poison in dangerous amounts – attacking the grunt. Ash tried to call Nidorino off, but his vision dimmed as the blow finally took its toll on him.

XX

Ash was confused when he was finally woken up. He couldn't remember what happened to make him feel so bad, although he could recall fuzzy images and memories of terror. The trainer felt weak as he pushed himself up. A large, coarse tongue was licking his face and he wanted to get away from it – the spit tingled and burned a little bit.

He opened his eyes and realized that Nidorino was licking him. Ash smiled as best he could and shakily patted his friend. Then he realized that he was leaning up against a wall and that he was very sore and very tired. Plus there was some hot liquid covering his mouth.

The trainer also became aware of his pokemon huddled around him. Even Drowzee was standing above him, staring him in the eyes. Ash smiled at her and stood up on trembling limbs. He curiously checked his pokeballs and realized that they were all still there. Torrent was huddled as close to the glass of his aquarium as he could.

Ash frowned and tapped Torrent's pokeball. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he just noticed that the ship was shaking a little bit. He looked around the room to see if anything strange was happening when he noticed a body on the floor.

He stumbled over – he was aware of Nidorino closely following him to support him – to the body and knelt to see if whoever it was needed help. They didn't look to be breathing, and they were face down. Ash couldn't tell if they were hurt or not or if they were a member of the crew. Although the figure seemed oddly familiar somehow, Ash couldn't remember where he'd seen him.

The trainer nearly fell over when he knelt, but Nidorino carefully kept him from falling. Ash nodded his thanks to his starter pokemon and felt the unconscious man's pale, exposed neck. It was oddly cold, and then Ash realized it.

That man was dead. Ash's eyes widened in horror and he tried to pull himself away from the cold, limp corpse. He stumbled again, but Nidorino carefully held him up with his long, wide body. Ash breathed quickly and loudly as he stared at the corpse.

Then he noticed signs of a fight. Blood was on the carpet around where he woke up – he wiped his mouth and saw with horror that his sleeve was stained red, explaining the slight metallic taste on his lips. The door looked to have been forced open and more blood stained the thick, lush carpet around the corpse.

"What happened, buddies?" He asked in a tight, terrified voice. Ash looked at Nidorino and saw that his pink face had traces of blood and that his horn was stained red, although the clear poison was beginning to dissolve it.

"What did you do?!" Ash tried to scream, although it ended up as an awkward, choked out sentence. Nidorino didn't seem ashamed at all and slowly walked over to the corpse, tucking his horn underneath the body and flipping it.

That's when Ash saw the mask and scarlet R on the grunt's shirt. Team Rocket.

He gulped and sat down, cradling his aching, sore head in his hands. Ash was on the verge of tears – he had just been attacked and Nidorino had _killed_ someone in his defense. Did that mean it was his fault that the man died? Would Nidorino be put down by the League? That would be the worst thing in the world. Nidorino was one of his best friends.

Ash couldn't really blame Nidorino, though. Even if he was horrified by his friend's actions, Nidorino just acted on his instincts and protective urges. He thought he was doing the best thing.

Still, he felt the distinct urge to vomit. Nidorino walked over and supported him as he wretched, throwing up the banquet all over the beautiful carpet. Ash was ashamed of himself and felt the urge to cry as his blood mixed with the vomit.

He pulled himself up again and slowly moved away from the smell, heading toward the open door. Ash was stopped by a growl from Nidorino. The pale boy turned back to his friend with red-rimmed eyes and tried to see what Nidorino wanted.

The pokemon was poking a pokeball on the grunt's waist. Ash looked at in horror for a moment, realizing what Nidorino wanted him to do. He gulped and slowly walked over to the body and knelt when he was close.

Ash took the pokeball with shaking hands, making sure not to touch the body. When it was over he scrambled away from the body as fast as he could and stared at it for a moment. Nidorino insistently rubbed up against him and roused Ash from his stupor.

He carefully clipped the pokeball to his belt. Ash was sure that it was illegal, but he wanted the pokemon inside of it to be safe. The League would probably take it up soon anyway.

Ash took another moment to recall Plume. She would just get excited and there wasn't much she could do right now. He took a deep, rattling breath as he looked at the body. He needed to call the crew. They would know what to do.

As he stumbled over to the phone – taking care to stay away from the blood, corpse, and vomit – the ship's small shakes suddenly increased by many magnitudes and threw him off his feet. Ash grunted in pain when his body slammed into one of the walls, although he slowly picked himself up.

"Attention, my dear friends." A cultured, oddly familiar voice said over the intercom that was in every room. "This is Rocket Executive Pierce. To those who are currently resisting our acquisition of your pokemon and valuables, please desist or you will be killed. To my men and the rest, I suggest you hurry up. This ship will be destroyed in five minutes. Tick tock."

Memories of Pierce flooded through Ash's mind – his refined cruelty and deceptively elegant manner at the forefront of it all – and the trainer realized that the Executive wasn't kidding. This ship would blow up in five minutes. He had to get out of here – he was sure that his friends would be fine. They were strong enough to escape Team Rocket.

"Nidorino." He choked out. His friend's ears twitched and he looked at the trainer. "Help me out of here. This place is about to blow."

Nidorino nodded and stayed a little bit ahead of Ash, ready to fight off any threats. Ash recalled Drowzee. She wouldn't be much help, especially since she wouldn't listen to him.

Ash slowly forced himself to walk out of the room and into the hall. His swirling vision and a strange ringing in his ears slowed his progress immensely, and he was nearly run over by a swarm of panicked people when he stepped out of his room. Nidorino leapt back and gently pushed Ash back into the room.

"Thanks." He muttered through a dry throat. Nidorino growled when he saw a Rocket grunt and two minor poison-types chasing the crowd, but didn't intervene. When they'd passed, Nidorino slowly walked back outside and looked for threats.

Ash slowly stumbled after his friend, taking a few moments to steady himself when he got tipsy. He was beginning to feel terrified – time was running out and he still had no idea how he would escape. Maybe there would be life boats, but they were probably already leaving with whatever passengers they could get.

He silently raged at Team Rocket for giving everyone such a short amount of time to escape. Ash was sure it was intentional – Pierce probably wanted to kill as many people as he could. Still, he wasn't sure how they would destroy the St. Anne. Probably a hyper beam of some sort.

Soon enough, the duo found themselves slowly climbing the stairs that would take them to the deck. Ash was silently glad that he'd picked the suite. If he hadn't there'd be no way he would escape. Jonathan and Amelia were probably already out – Charmeleon could easily blast a hole through the steel walls and give them a way out. He wasn't sure how they could swim away though – it was storming and they didn't have a life boat.

They would find a way, he assured himself. They were strong enough.

As they finally climbed out of the stairs – Nidorino tackled the door open, snapping it off its hinges – Ash realized that it was storming much worse than he'd feared. It was almost completely black, the darkness only chased away by the electric lights and brief flashes of lightning.

He really didn't want to go into the ocean during such terrible weather, but he didn't have a choice. Suddenly, his attention was attracted to a large, bat pokemon swooping at him, briefly illuminated by the lightning. Ash tried to call out for Nidorino, but his voice was drowned in the raging storm.

Ash's vision went blurry again – the rain and loud thunder weren't helping his headache – but he felt a pokeball snap open and release a pokemon. He managed to make out a short, squat form before the lightning flashed again.

Drowzee was protecting him. Shock and glee raced through him in equal measure as he saw Drowzee raise its clawed hand at the pokemon – a golbat, he could see now – and stare at it with powerfully glowing eyes that illuminated the area around him. The golbat bared its fangs at Drowzee as a blue glow suffused its large form.

The psychic took control of the golbat and slammed it into the ground, immobilizing it. Nidorino had realized something was going on at that point and charged the golbat, slamming into it with his horn and knocking it unconscious.

Ash looked at Drowzee with awe for a second before she returned to her pokeball. Nidorino roared at him, reminding Ash that they were still in danger.

Their progress continued to be painstakingly slow, and Ash was beginning to consider returning Nidorino. Pokemon couldn't die in their pokeballs – they were essentially frozen in time, and, even if the pokeball broke, it would just release them. Nidorino was a strong enough swimmer to get to land if he had to, and if not he would be recovered from the wreck.

Before he could do so, however, he saw nearly a dozen large helicopters with a crimson R on them take off into the sky. Ash clenched his fist in anger as the Rockets escaped, leaving him and who knew how many others to die in this wreck. Tears burned at his eyes, but he didn't let them run free.

Suddenly an immense power made itself known. It was impossible to describe – it made his drenched skin tingle and cast a bright, icy blue light throughout the area. Everything for miles was illuminated in the eerie light – Ash could see several lifeboats making their way through the crashing waves and a large, serpent like pokemon arcing its way through the waves. A gyarados.

Then he was drawn to the source of the light – an impossibly bright blue orb that hung in midair. A humanoid figure hovered in the middle of it, although Ash couldn't make out the details. He knew that it was the source of the great power.

And it soon displayed its power. Before it had been passive – only tingling and illuminating and causing the waves underneath the figure to leap impossibly high – but now it was active. Ash screamed as the tingling turned into a single moment of intense, invisible burning as the light grew brighter and brighter until it seemed like a miniature blue sun.

He recalled Nidorino the moment he wasn't stunned by the pain. His friend wouldn't die like this.

A tiny, bright beam of energy split off from the main ball of it and flashed towards the ship. It hit the bottom part first and quickly traced upwards, destroying and cutting a clean, precise line through everything it touched.

The figure glanced at its handiwork for a moment before flashing away, leaving nothing but a bright trail of icy blue energy and hundreds of dead men. Ash glared at it hatefully for a moment before he was thrown from his feet.

With a great groan, the ship began to split. It slowly began to be submerged into the raging ocean, the bright lights of its cabins and deck being extinguished as the St. Anne died.

Ash finally began to cry as he began to slide down the deck. He shut his eyes as a bright flash of light erupted through the darkness. For a moment he thought he was dead, but he was still falling, drenched, and freezing.

Then a pair of talons pulled him up by the neck of his jacket. Ash's eyes glanced up in shock and saw Plume struggling to pull him away from the sinking ship, although even the large bird was struggling to do so. He was tempted to recall her, but he knew that she would just pop out again.

Plume carried him for a distance until he was off the ship and then began to slowly lose altitude through a mixture of exhaustion and strategy. Ash felt the neck of his coat began to tear from the force being exerted on it, but by then he was only a few feet above the clashing waves.

Finally, his jacket couldn't handle the stress and tore. Plume screeched in terror as he was swallowed up by the crashing waves, but he quickly recalled her. Even as he was pulled under Ash knew that she wouldn't survive in this storm for long.

He was too exhausted to struggle against the powerful waves, and he could barely keep from expelling the air he'd gulped in and breathing in deadly water. Ash closed his eyes against the sting of the salt and winced as the waves passed his body around.

As his lungs started to horribly burn, he felt a pokeball shaking. Torrent looked at him from a few feet away and determinedly swam over to him, obviously wanting Ash to grab him. Ash didn't do it – he was too heavy for Torrent to move.

But when Torrent started thrashing in annoyance, the exhausted and suffocating trainer retained enough of his intelligence to grab on to the water-type's small body. Torrent surprisingly managed to pull him to the surface, albeit slowly and with a great deal of difficulty.

Ash's eyes snapped open when he could feel cold air on his face and he gratefully sucked in as much air as he could, breathing in quick, deep breaths. The burning in his lungs abated and he could feel something besides his mad desire for air.

"Thanks, Torr—" he began to mutter. Suddenly, another wave crashed down on him. Ash gurgled as he was pulled under the waves, and Torrent tried to get to him again. The trainer could see that Torrent was being thrown around by the waves worse than he was – horsea weren't meant to be swimming in the middle of a massive storm, after all. Torrent should be safely connected to a rock.

He saw a bright light illuminate the water for a single moment, but he couldn't see what it was. His vision was going blurry and he couldn't focus on anything. Ash's lungs burned and he couldn't even move himself anymore.

As his vision dimmed, he couldn't find it in him to keep fighting for air. He slowly began to relax, giving up on the frantic, painful struggle.

His vision finally turned black and he lost all consciousness. But before he did so, he felt a large, spiky force pushing him upwards. Ash barely registered it before blacking out.

XX

A/N: I usually don't end with a cliffhanger, but I felt it was appropriate for this chapter. The next chapter should be out relatively quickly, since I have the plot and characters hammered out now. Anyways, thanks for reading and make sure to review.


	4. Chapter 4: Celadon

**A/N: Sorry for the wait, but I had two weeks of being unable to write. Anyways, I like this chapter well enough but I'm not quite sure about it. It's much more serious than the other chapters, but I plan for that to calm down starting next chapter. I started burning out at the end. Whatever, I hope everybody enjoys it and remembers to review. **

A bright light woke him up. Ash was confused when he finally became aware again – he couldn't remember anything other than the jumbled feelings of fear, awe, and horror. Where was he and why was he put here?

He tried to remember the last few moments before he'd fallen asleep. Although he could remember the maelstrom of emotions, he couldn't remember the event that caused it. His mind suddenly snapped out of confusion and he remembered everything.

The destruction of the St. Anne, the heroics of his pokemon, the horrible burning that came when he was plunged underneath the surging waves – everything. Ash's eyes snapped open, ignoring the gunk that glued them shut. It stung for a moment, but he didn't care. He needed to make sure his friends were safe.

Ash pushed himself up with trembling arms and looked around. He was in a hospital. The room was stark white and bare aside for an IV connected into his arm. Nobody else was around.

He tried to pull himself out of his bed, but the action prompted an immediate wave of nausea. A small device connected to his body through several transparent wires began to beep, but Ash found himself feeling too sick to pay much attention.

As he waited for his dizziness to fade, a Nurse Joy slid into the room. Even in his sick state Ash had to raise an eyebrow at that. Most Nurse Joys opted to stay with the pokemon centers. Not many chose to heal humans as well.

She looked cheerful as she saw him, although she looked ready to put him back to sleep if he started acting up. Ash glanced at her as she sat down on a chair beside his bed.

"Good morning!" She said brightly. Ash just stared at her with bleary eyes. Nurse Joy wasn't fazed. "I guess you're wondering why you're here, huh?"

"Yeah." He coughed out. His throat wasn't dry or raspy, but it felt as though he hadn't used it in a while. "Where are my pokemon? What happened to the ship? How did I get here? How long –"

The Nurse Joy shushed him. "Calm down, Mr. Ketchum. I'll answer all of your questions. I just need you to stay calm."

Ash took a few deep breaths and looked at Nurse Joy. She nodded and smiled at him when he appeared ready.

"Good. Now," she said, glancing at a clipboard, "all of your pokemon were found on you. Your seadra managed to get you to the surface. We found you washed up on a beach a few miles from Vermillion thanks to your pidgeotto. All of the others were safely in their pokeballs."

He let out a sigh of relief. Nurse Joy scanned the clipboard again.

"They're currently in holding right now – when we tried to release them they were too wild for us to control. All of them tried to escape and get to you. We'll get them back to you as soon as we think you can safely be around them." She reassured the trainer when she saw Ash's worried face. "We just didn't want them hurting themselves."

The trainer nodded and waited for her to continue. Her face was grim and sorrowful as she told him the fate of the St. Anne.

"The St. Anne was sunk." She said with a bowed head. "It was somehow destroyed, but the police don't know what caused it. Did you see whatever did it?"

Ash's eyes stared off into space as he remembered the humanoid figure encased in the orb of energy. He didn't know what it was, but it had destroyed the ship in a single attack.

"Yeah." He choked out, overcome by the painful memory. "I saw it, but I don't know what it was."

Nurse Joy looked at him with regretful eyes. "I'm sorry we have to drag this up, but the League needs to know what happened. Whatever did this can't go unpunished."

He nodded and calmed down a little. "It's fine. But do you know what happened to my friends? They were on the ship with me but we got separated."

The Nurse read over her clipboard again before zeroing in on the relevant information. She glanced up at him.

"Information from your pokedex says that you were travelling with Amelia Franklin and Jonathan Lindon. Is that correct?" She asked. Ash nodded. He was a little surprised that his pokedex had survived the experience, but not amazed. It was built to be incredibly durable.

"They're safe." She said reassuringly. He let go of some of his tension and collapsed back onto his bed. "It says here that they were found at a small town in the Seafoam Islands. They were completely fine."

He nodded thankfully. Just as he was about to ask his next question, she answered it.

"You've been here for a day." She said calmly. Ash was relieved – he was afraid that he'd been unconscious for a week or more. He certainly felt like he had. "We hooked you up to an IV as soon as we got you in. You'll be free to go in a day or two, depending on your condition. You didn't suffer any major injuries aside from a minor concussion and bruised nose. It's a miracle, really."

Then something she'd said before dawned on him.

"You said a seadra pulled me to shore?" He asked slowly. Nurse Joy nodded. A wide grin split his face – Torrent had evolved! Even though he didn't like the horrible circumstances that had forced it, he was glad that he and Torrent were close enough for his friend to evolve to save him.

Nurse Joy must have understood his excitement. "I guess your horsea evolved, then?" She said drily as he continued grinning. Ash nodded, although he quickly stopped. His face and neck were sore.

"Alright then." She said when she looked over the rest of the clipboard. "That's it for the medical questions. Are you okay with seeing the police right now? We don't want you to have to go through anything you aren't ready for."

Ash shook his head determinedly. "I'm fine. They need to know."

She sighed and nodded before walking out the door. Before she left, though, she glanced back at him. "If you need me or anything else, just tap the buzzer next to your bed. Officer Jenny will be in shortly."

He nodded again and glanced over at the table. The buzzer was a small rod that had buttons in the side. It looked like it had bed controls as well. Maybe he would play with that later.

A few moments later an Officer Jenny walked into the room. She looked a little bit taller than her sisters and cousins that Ash had seen and seemed far sterner and colder. More professional.

Her face softened when she saw him, however. She adopted a kinder look and sat down next to him.

"Hello, Mr. Ketchum. I have some questions for you about the events two nights ago." Officer Jenny said gently. "Are you sure that you're up to answering them?"

He nodded. "I want to help set this right."

Officer Jenny smiled. "Good. Then let's get underway. It won't be very long, but I need you to do your best to remember what happened. You're our only conscious witness."

Ash tightly nodded his understanding. It felt like a lot more weight was just added to his shoulders. He slowly began to go over the worst night of his life in more detail, making sure that he didn't miss anything the police could use.

"Do you know who it was that boarded and destroyed the vessel?" She asked, staring into his eyes. Harry nodded.

"Team Rocket. One of them came into my room, but my pokemon…protected…me from him." Ash said. Officer Jenny didn't seem to miss the hesitation behind his words and he grew worried. What would she do if she realized that Nidorino killed someone? "And I took his pokeball. I didn't want it getting taken back by Team Rocket."

Officer Jenny nodded. "Yes, we realized that it didn't belong to you. The zubat inside is being rehabilitated. It will be given to you once it is deemed safe, if you want to take it."

He nodded, quickly analyzing some of the benefits a zubat could bring to his team. Aside from some of the obvious uses – a zubat could lead him out of caves and provide a training partner for Plume – he wanted to give it a good home. Ash wasn't sure what Team Rocket did to their pokemon, but considering that most of them were broken enough to hurt or kill humans, it couldn't be good.

The Officer smiled a bit and wrote something down on her clipboard. "Please continue."

Ash coughed. "Anyways, one of their executives, Pierce," Officer Jenny's eyes narrowed at the name and she quickly scribbled down a few notes, "got onto the intercom and told everyone that we had five minutes to escape before he blew the ship up."

Officer Jenny just nodded comfortingly at him as he stopped for a moment. He squeezed his eyes shut before continuing.

"The Rocket that went into my room slammed my head into a wall." He said with far away eyes. The memories were flashing before him. "That gave me a concussion, I think. I wasn't able to get out onto the deck until time was almost out. I was on the deck when the ship was destroyed."

The officer had a look of barely concealed excitement. Apparently she hadn't expected this much information from him. Ash swallowed as the images ran before his eyes.

"The Rockets all escaped in helicopters." Ash said. Officer Jenny wrote notes on that as well – he knew that helicopters were rare and mostly illegal for everyone but the League. They were too upsetting to pokemon and tended to cause an increase in attacks and accidents. "But they left something behind. I couldn't really see it, but it was more powerful than anything I've ever seen."

"Do you think it was a pokemon?" Officer Jenny asked eagerly. Ash shrugged, wincing as his broken down muscles surged with a dull pain.

"I couldn't really see it." He admitted. "It was in this orb of blue light – it was so bright that it lit up the entire ocean for as far as I could see. All I could see was something that looked like a human hovering in it."

The officer sighed. "I see. What did it do?"

"It just sent this tiny beam of light at the ship." Ash recalled. "Then the ship got cut in half and I started falling. My pidgeotto caught me and pulled me to a few feet above my water, but I fell in and got knocked out. After that I woke up in here."

"Thank you very much." Jenny said. "You've been a great help to us."

Ash nodded and laid his head down. He was starting to get tired. There was a sharp beeping sound in the room, but he just ignored it. All he wanted was to rest. It was probably just something for Officer Jenny.

"It looks like you have some very important people interested in you." Jenny said drily. "Lt. Surge and Steven Stone have just arrived at the hospital. They're coming to see you."

He blinked in surprise. Words couldn't describe the shock he felt. While he could understand why Surge was here – this was his city, and it was up to him to protect it from all threats, both internal and external – he wasn't sure why Steven was here. Maybe it was because of Pierce. Steven seemed to have a personal problem with the man.

Officer Jenny stood up. "Thank you again." She said. As she began to exit the room, Ash realized that he hadn't asked something very important.

"Err, Officer Jenny?" He called out hesitantly. She paused and glanced back at him. "How many other people got away from the wreck?"

She frowned and her face lost all warmth. An expression of sorrow and regret flashed over her features.

"Aside from you we've only discovered eighty survivors. Most of those escaped in lifeboats. Only a few managed to escape using pokemon or other methods."

Ash's eyes stared past her. Eighty survivors. The St. Anne was gigantic, one of the three largest ships in the entire world. According to one of the pamphlets about it, the ship could hold up to four thousand people counting the crew. And the ship was usually filled to the brim with passengers – that meant that only about a fortieth of the people on board survived the attack.

And that wasn't counting the thousands of pokemon that had been on board either – they either drowned, escaped, or were trapped underneath the wreckage. Many would probably never be recovered. So many people lost.

He was having trouble believing it – how could so many people, many of which he'd seen laughing and talking around the ship, just die? How could so many people just be snuffed out of existence in less than a day. Ash couldn't really wrap his mind around it. All he could really understand was the sheer horror of what had happened.

There was despair – more of it then he had ever felt. But anger was there as well, burning at the injustice of the situation and the monsters that had perpetrated it.

Officer Jenny's voice cut through his thoughts, dragging him away from his stunned realizations and jumbled emotions.

"They're almost here." Officer Jenny said, her own voice reflecting some of the maelstrom of emotions that he was feeling. "I need to go. Good luck, Ash. This must be difficult."

He just nodded and stared ahead, silently awaiting his guests. Maybe they could explain some of the details. Ash barely noticed Officer Jenny leaving the room, quietly closing the door behind her.

His attention was jolted back to the world when two familiar forms entered the room. One was a giant – bulky and powerful, with a personality to match. The other was shorter and slim, but possessed a sort of presence that couldn't be ignored.

"Hello, Ash." Steven greeted. His tone was grim, lacking most of its usual warmth. Ash could tell he was making an effort, however. Although his face could be mistaken for his namesake, it wasn't so hard as to be disturbing.

Surge was far less reserved. "How's it going, runt?" The giant asked boisterously. Despite his personality seeming the same, Ash could detect just a hint of the despair and rage that Surge must be feeling.

While the destruction of the St. Anne was a tragedy for everyone, it was personal offense for Surge. He was Vermillion City's gym leader – its protector and leader. This wasn't just an attack for him; it showed that he had failed in his duty. And if the tales and rumors he had heard about Surge's youth were true, then Team Rocket would have a hard time surviving anywhere in Surge's territory from here on out.

Ash winced as a very large Raichu jumped up onto his bed and sniffed him for a moment. He glanced at the curious mouse for a moment before Raichu jumped onto Surge's shoulder. When the pokemon was comfortable, Surge continued.

"Anyways, runt, we're here because the League doesn't understand a lot of what went on, regardless of what Officer Jenny just told you. We know it was Team Rocket, but we don't know who commanded it or how they managed to destroy a ship that large without a hundred hyper beams."

He nodded and pushed himself up on weak limbs, fighting the wave of nausea that washed over him. When he was sure he wasn't going to vomit, he started.

"I already told Officer Jenny what I remembered." Ash admitted. "But I can tell you again."

"Alright." Steven said. He didn't take a seat, but remained standing. It looked like this would be brief. "I want to know two things. Who commanded the raid and how was the ship destroyed?" The former Champion glanced at the same clipboard that Officer Jenny had brought in. "The report says that Pierce led it, but are you sure? How do you know?"

Ash quickly responded. Steven was actually frightening – he wasn't the friendly, joking man that had protected him and his friends from Rockets on the way to Cerulean City. This was the former Champion, someone who protected an entire region. And Steven was angry, even if he was good at hiding it – whatever anger at Pierce that Ash had detected previously was nothing compared to this.

"He said so over the intercom." Ash shrugged, wincing at the soreness in his shoulders. "I would recognize that voice anywhere."

Steven nodded in understanding. "And the thing that destroyed the ship? Officer Jenny didn't write much about it down. Just that it looked human and was surrounded by energy."

Ash winced. "I don't really know how to describe it. It looked humanoid – but it was floating and was surrounded by a ball of energy so bright that it lit up the entire sea. But it was just so powerful. It blew through the ship in just a few seconds."

He didn't miss the glance that Steven and Surge shared. "What is it?"

"Sounds Legendary." Surge said, ignoring Ash's question. Steven nodded, his eyes losing any hint of warmth. They were cold now – afraid. "Nothing else could have done something like that."

"Legendary?" Ash asked, a trace of panic entering his voice. Legendaries were legends for a reason – they weren't something that anyone wanted to have as an enemy.

Steven shook his head. "That doesn't get out of here, Ash. I doubt it's even true – there has to be another explanation."

He nodded resignedly. Ash wouldn't have spread anything like this around anyways. All he wanted was for this incident to be put behind him and his journey resume.

"I should go." Surge said suddenly, shifting his bulk towards the door. "There's a lot of stuff to clean up. Besides," he grinned horribly, exposing more teeth than usual, "Team Rocket is about to suffer quite a few casualties."

With that he left, leaving Ash and Steven alone. The former Champion glanced at Ash and some of the tension seemed to leave his face. Ash wondered just how much of it was a show.

"Thanks for your help. Hopefully it will help clear some things up when we get more information." Steven said. He looked at Ash for a long moment, considering him with sad eyes. "And Ash, I'm sorry you had to go through that. No one should have to face such an awful situation."

Ash just nodded uncomfortably. He didn't want to be reminded of it anymore. All he wanted to do was get on with his journey and never think about the St. Anne ever again. Not when so many horrible things had happened on it.

The former Champion suddenly seemed to remember something. Ash watched curiously as the slight man dug around in the pocket of his suit before he pulled out a small, compact device. It was a dull yellow and appeared to be able to open up.

"Here." He said, handing the small device to Ash. The younger trainer carefully took it, examining it further. It was made of a smooth material and had a large, light blue button in the center. Ash figured that it would make it open up or activate it. "This is a PokeNav. It's a product my father's company recently invented."

"What does it do?" He asked curiously. Ash had heard of something called a pokegear before, but that was supposed to still be in the testing phase.

The older man closed his eyes for a moment and began to recite something, something apparently repeatedly memorized. "The PokeNav was created in order to assist young and experienced trainers in keeping track of a pokemon's attributes and feelings. However, it also possesses a map of the region you are in and more detailed maps of your current location, although you can view other areas as well. It also serves as a miniature video phone and can keep track of up to three hundred different individuals and their numbers."

Steven opened his eyes. "Sorry about that, but my father was particularly enthusiastic about this invention. He's spent all of his time drilling that information into my head for the past few months. Anyways, this serves much the same function as the pokegear, if you've heard of those."

Ash nodded. Steven continued.

"But it also allows you to keep track of any awards or badges you've earned and can serve as a trainer I.D. Although," he said, "I don't suppose you need that feature, considering you have a pokedex. It's only just started to be distributed in Hoenn, although I have several with me."

"Why are you giving it to me?" Ash asked confusedly. "I mean, I'm grateful, but I don't see what I've done to earn it."

Steven smiled. "I'm giving it to you for several reasons. For one, you have potential. You're going to be a great trainer Ash, and soon. From what I've seen you'll be one of the lucky few that are naturals at training and battling – I want to help you along that path."

"You also seem to get into quite a bit of trouble." Steven said drily. "I know that you're pokedex has some of the same functions, but I figured that the maps would be helpful to you and the phone function is useful to everyone. Hopefully the PokeNav will help you out sometime in your journey."

Ash pondered this for a moment. "Thanks. This'll be really helpful."

The former Champion half-smiled. "I hope it will. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that I must go." His eyes narrowed and the stern Champion seemed to come back for a moment. "Our mutual friend needs to be brought to justice."

"Good luck." Ash said. He meant it – Pierce needed to be put back in prison. Although he didn't know how the man escaped custody, he needed to be put back in it.

Steven nodded a bit longer before standing up. Before he left, however, he left Ash with a few words.

"By the way, Ash, I'm looking forward to battling you one day."

Ash grinned widely, despite the pain that branched out through his face. That would be the greatest day of his life. He barely noticed when the former Champion silently slid out of his room, too enraptured in the thought of one day battling him to notice anything.

When he did realize that he was alone, Ash slowly collapsed into his soft bed, exhausted. His weight sank into the mattress, and he closed his eyes. He was asleep in no time at all.

XX

A tongue brushed across his cheek, and his eyes snapped open. It was only when the area that had been licked began to tingle from a dose of minor toxins that he realized Nidorino was in the room. Ash blinked a few times, only pushing himself up when Nidorino licked him again.

Wait. Nidorino was in here.

He grinned widely as he saw the large head of his friend looking at him, somewhat annoyed that the trainer had escaped his tongue.

"Hey, buddy!" Ash grinned. Nidorino grunted softly and butted his head against Ash's side. The trainer winced at the impact, but the exhilarating feeling of seeing his friend again blanked out the pain.

Ash scratched Nidorino's ears before looking around. He grinned when he realized that the rest of his pokemon were crowded into the small room as well. Plume was haphazardly perched on a thin metal bar which, judging from the slight bend it had, wasn't meant to hold a sixty pound bird.

Drowzee stood by his bed, staring at him with dull eyes. She glanced away when he looked at her, apparently ashamed of something. Ash couldn't figure out what – she saved his life.

The only one missing was Torrent. Ash missed his friend's absence, although he could understand why the nurses couldn't put him out – it was rather difficult to lug an aquarium large enough to hold a seadra into such a small room.

Still, he was resolved to see his friend and thank him the second he could. Torrent was the only reason he was still alive – as much as his other friends might have wanted to help him, they couldn't have pulled him to safety. Plume was too exhausted and wasn't strong enough to carry him, and the others would have killed themselves trying to swim to the shore.

In fact, he wasn't even sure the awkwardly shaped Drowzee could swim. He almost smiled at the thought, but then he realized he hadn't thanked any of them yet.

"Hey." He said softly, attracting their attention. "I just wanted to thank all of you. There was no way that I could have gotten out of that without you."

Plume preened at the praise, while Nidorino just butted his side again, softer this time. Ash smiled and scratched the large creature's sensitive ears again. Then he looked over at Drowzee – she was still glancing away from him.

Ash wanted to make sure to thank her specially – he knew she didn't like him, but she still saved his life. Maybe that spelled the end of her animosity towards him, or at least the beginning of it.

"Hey, Drowzee." He said slowly. She looked over at him, her dull eyes glazed with interest. "Thanks for protecting me from that golbat. I know you didn't have to."

She looked at him carefully, her face not revealing anything. Well, Ash didn't think it did, anyway. He couldn't claim to be an expert on the facial expressions of Drowzee.

"So," he began hesitantly, "do you want a nickname? All the others have one."

Drowzee considered it for a moment, the intelligence that Ash knew to be there working quickly behind her beady eyes. A bit later, she slowly nodded. Ash grinned widely, glad that she seemed to have gotten over her anger at being captured.

Giving her a name was a lengthy process. Drowzee was far pickier then any of his other pokemon and treated most of his offers with distaste. Some seemed somewhat acceptable, but she still didn't accept them. Nevertheless, he filed them away in case they couldn't agree on one.

"How about Dazed?" He ventured. Personally, he thought it was a stupid name. But Drowzee seemed to have a liking for names that he considered odd. Besides, even if he thought it was stupid, it still fit her. Her glazed, beady eyes and dull expression did nothing to dispel that assumption, even if he knew it to be false.

Strangely, however, she seemed to like it. Her trunk swayed slightly as she nodded almost imperceptibly, Drowzee's eyes losing some of their glaze. Ash smiled. Even if it wasn't his first choice, it seemed that she liked it well enough.

"Alright!" He said happily. "Dazed it is."

Dazed sleepily nodded before returning to staring at the wall. Ash shrugged, deciding that that was all he was going to get from her.

Instead, he returned to speaking to his other pokemon, lathering them with affection that both he and they had missed during his time away from them.

XX

Ash had a smile on his face as he left the hospital, feeling the hot sun on his face for the first time in four days. While the hospital wasn't the worst thing he'd ever experienced, it was certainly one of the most boring. Aside from a few long conversations with his mother, who had been understandably terrified, and his pokemon almost nothing happened.

He had been released just an hour ago. Although the doctors wanted him to stay an extra day, he had refused. Every one of their tests had said he was fine, and he wanted to get out and continue his journey. If he had to he would just take it easy for a few days.

His friends would definitely be glad to be venturing into the wilderness again. They had been getting antsy in the hospital – last night he had been forced to return them to their pokeballs after they'd gotten a little too rambunctious.

It didn't take him long to reach Vermillion's gates. The hospital was only about five minutes away – conveniently placed in case someone had gotten injured in the wilderness and needed immediate assistance. Vermillion was pretty small, anyways, so it wasn't an inconvenience to the populace.

Ash smiled as he stepped outside of the safe boundaries of the city. Even if he wasn't even close to being away from the urban area, it was still nice knowing that he was able to do this.

He had made a new plan during his stay in the hospital. While he had originally intended to challenge Koga after they docked at Fuschia City, that plan had fallen through. Now he was going to Celadon. Erica wasn't supposed to be very difficult, so it wouldn't be too stressful.

After that he was going to head to Saffron, and then to Fuschia. When he defeated Koga he would have to get to the Seafoam Islands if he hadn't caught another water pokemon before then. Although Torrent was much more powerful now, he still wouldn't be able to do much against Blaine in Cinnabar.

That was Torrent's only real drawback – he couldn't fight outside of water. Kingdra were capable of learning to levitate in the air – it was something to do with their dragon abilities – but Ash didn't see Torrent evolving again for a long time. So Ash would have to find another water pokemon if he wanted to stand a chance against the experienced Blaine.

But for now he needed to focus on his journey to Celadon. It was best to focus on the present, not the future.

Ash released Plume and Nidorino. Nidorino softly grunted and carefully butted his head against Ash's leg. He grinned and patted his friend's head. Plume screeched out her welcome and lightly pecked Ash's shoulder before taking to the skies.

He stood there for a moment, looking at his pokemon. It was great to be around them in the wild again. Another head butt from Nidorino brought him back to earth.

"Alright, guys, let's go."

Nidorino growled and followed Ash. Ash put one hand on the PokeNav, silently reminding himself to call his mom soon. She had been terrified of him going back out to the wilderness, but he promised her that he would call every other day. The PokeNav had played a good role in getting her to let him continue his journey.

Celadon awaited him.

XX

It was three days later when he ran into that Misty girl. Ash had battled countless trainers on the road – plenty of people were travelling between Vermillion and Celadon, after all – and had won most of them. There were quite a few experienced trainers, however, and he lost several times.

Overall, however, he was happy with his friends' success. He knew that there were lots of people better than him – he had only been a trainer for a few months, even if he was naturally talented at battling. Still, he was more than holding his own against the more experienced trainers. They might have won, but it made his pokemon grow more and more powerful from the experience.

So he almost didn't notice it was her at first. She was fishing at a small pond by the road in a way reminiscent of the first time he had encountered her. If it weren't for his habit of challenging everyone he came across he wouldn't have known it was her.

"What are you doing here?" He asked bemusedly, confused as to why he kept finding her in random places. Maybe she was following him.

"I could ask the same thing about you." She retorted. Ash saw her pull a pokeball off of her belt. He grinned and readied Nidorino's ball. Nidorino was probably tired from all of his battles, but he would be up for this. "Whatever. Let's battle."

He wasn't surprised when the familiar form of her Starmie appeared, gem glowing with anticipation. Ash silently tapped the button that would release Nidorino. Misty's eyes narrowed when she saw the large creature, but she didn't say anything.

There was a tense standoff for a moment as the trainers retreated to a safe distance. Misty made the first move.

"Psychic!" She cried. Ash frowned, but didn't need to tell Nidorino to dodge as Starmie glowed a bright blue. Nidorino easily jumped out of the way as a light wave of telekinetic force blasted towards him.

"Poison sting. Follow with horn attack." Ash muttered, too low for Misty to hear. Nidorino quickly moved to carry out the order, firing several of the thin, poison-secreting barbs at Starmie. When they stunned Starmie for a moment through their powerful venom, Nidorino charge at Starmie with his horn lowered.

Starmie had no chance to dodge, despite its trainer's frantic shouts to dodge. Nidorino slammed into the creature's gem, sending small cracks threading throughout it as his powerful attack met it. The Starmie seemed as though it would recover for a moment, but the bright light of its gem faded a bit.

Ash was actually disappointed as Starmie collapsed. While he knew he would win the battle – while he was sure Misty had trained quite a bit since her last defeat, he and his friends had become exponentially more powerful – he had expected it to take longer than a single attack.

And, if Misty's shocked face was any indication, she had as well. Ash frowned again before congratulating Nidorino, who seemed pleased with defeating the Starmie yet again. The display seemed to snap her out of her stunned state, but Ash rejected the proffered wad of money with a shake of his head.

"I only take money from actual battles." He said in annoyance, perhaps more harshly than he had intended. "Train more."

Misty's face morphed from shocked to angry. "I have!" She shouted. "But apparently I'm not a fanatic about it like you!"

Ash just glanced at her. "What're you talking about?"

"You must have been training all day for the last few weeks." She retorted bitterly. "Last time your pokemon weren't much more powerful than mine. Now your Nidorino knocked Starmie out with one hit."

"Eh. He evolved."

Misty just glared at him. "Evolving doesn't do that much. You have to have been doing nothing but training him."

Ash just sighed. "Not really. Anyways, I'm leaving. This wasn't much fun."

His opponent just glared at him. "Fine. I'm going to beat you next time."

He smiled, although he was feeling a bit annoyed at her. After this, he doubted that she would ever catch up. "Looking forward to it."

Nidorino growled at Misty as they walked by, continuing on their journey. Ash glanced at him disapprovingly but didn't say anything. He was more caught up in his thoughts than he was on the world.

He didn't understand why the battle was so _easy._ Although he had beaten her every time before, it had always been somewhat of a challenge. This couldn't even really be called a battle. Maybe it was just because he'd gotten to know Starmie's weak point, but had evolution really made Nidoran that powerful?

Only a few of the pokemon he'd faced on the journey so far had been knocked out by a single attack. He'd just considered them as weaker pokemon belonging to new trainers, although he might have to reexamine that theory. While Misty was hardly a Master or incredibly powerful, she wasn't weak. She was certainly better than most people their age.

This really wasn't a big deal, but he saw it as a sort of symbol – he was moving forward, growing more experienced and more powerful. He almost couldn't believe that it was just because he and his friends had grown in strength – he half-believed it was just to luck.

Regardless of the motivations underlying his thoughts, they stuck with him as he travelled down the road with Nidorino at his side.

Celadon awaited them.

XX

Ash was tired and dirty when he finally arrived at Celadon. The journey after he'd defeated Misty had been harsh and draining. Although it was short – the route between Vermillion and Celadon was one of the shortest in Kanto, at least between two major cities – the way around Saffron City was full of forests, which were in turn full of beedrill and other annoyances.

While he would have stopped in Saffron to challenge the gym leader there, Sabrina, he knew that he didn't stand a chance against Sabrina yet. She was one of the gym leaders that ensured that rookies and unprepared trainers didn't go to the Indigo Conference. Although not as brutal as Surge or the gym leader at Viridian, she was one of the most powerful trainers in Kanto.

He was advancing by leaps and bounds, but he knew that he wasn't ready for the kind of firepower that Sabrina had at her disposal. Even the thought of facing her famed Alakazam made him shudder. Ash had watched her fight a challenger with an umbreon one time on TV.

Even though the umbreon couldn't be directly harmed by its psychic attacks, the Alakazam and Sabrina had used a loophole: it picked up one of the large pillars that dotted the stadium and smacked the umbreon with it, knocking it unconscious. Despite the great power picking up the pillar must have taken, Alakazam didn't even appear drained.

But he could defeat Erica. She wasn't known for being a particularly powerful gym leader, although she was still competent. Still, she would be weak to Nidorino, Plume, and any of her poison-types could be taken care of handily by Dazed.

All in all, this would be like facing Misty again. Except easier.

Still, he was going to the Pokemon Center. It was too late to challenge Erica and he couldn't wait to get a hot shower and even hotter food. His friends would appreciate it as well. He hadn't packed a surplus of supplies like he usually did due to the comparatively shorter journey, so neither he nor his pokemon had been able to eat as much as they'd have liked.

It was a short trip to the Pokemon Center. He moved quickly through the empty streets, focused only on getting signed in. When he reached the Center, it only took a few minutes to get a room.

Ash went to the cafeteria first, getting food for both him and his pokemon. He didn't bother staying in the vacant cafeteria, instead taking the trays up to his room.

When he was in the room – he glanced around it, noting that it was exactly the same as the other rooms he'd gotten – he set down the trays and released his pokemon.

Nidorino snorted at Ash before he tore into the food Ash had placed on the floor. Plume chirped before carefully pecking at the small pellets. Dazed just looked at it for a moment before levitating a portion of the food to her.

Ash was conscious of the lone member of their group that wasn't out. He walked over to the aquarium that dominated an entire side of the room and tapped Torrent's pokeball, releasing the seadra.

He just stared at the larger, powerful form of his friend when it materialized. Torrent still looked a lot like he had as a horsea, only more mature and angrier looking, although the determined, dangerous look in his eyes was still there.

Torrent was several times larger than he had been as a horsea, and far bulkier. The small, thin scales on his chest had fully developed, leaving a jagged crest of armor over him. His small "wings" had grown into large, spiky appendages and his tiny, curled tail had grown larger and more powerful looking. Ash also noticed that the small nubs that grew on the side of his head had become angular, sharp looking fins.

All in all, Torrent's appearance now fit his personality: a dangerous fighter that loved nothing more than the thrill of battle. But it also showed the strength that he had developed just to save Ash.

The seadra glanced at him for a moment before butting his head against the aquarium. Ordinary glass would have broken from the force, but the Pokemon Center seemed to have anticipated the power some pokemon held – the glass didn't even have the hint of a crack.

"None of that." Ash chided gently. Torrent obeyed and sank back a bit. "And thanks a lot. You saved my life. There's no way we would have gotten to safety without you."

Torrent puffed his scaly chest out a bit, as though he were saying "I know." Ash laughed and poured some of the food specifically for water pokemon into the aquarium, which Torrent quickly gobbled up.

Ash spent a bit more time with all of his friends before taking a shower and then going to bed, exhausted but no longer dirty.

XX

The next morning, Ash found himself standing outside of the Celadon Gym. It was…unique. The gym had been designed to resemble the flower of a gloom, with the noxious scent to match. He assumed that it was produced by actual gloom, as he knew that it was the favored pokemon of Erika.

Ash quickly ascended the steps and walked into the gym proper. The atrium appeared to be a greenhouse, albeit a stylized one. He knew that the gym held several greenhouses as well as a perfume manufacturing plant, so this was just to solidify the atmosphere.

While it was certainly nice, he wanted to get out of it as soon as possible. It wasn't only due to his need to battle Erika either – the disgusting smell the gloom produced a foul mixture of rotting trash and decaying flesh, was even more prevalent inside the gym. He reminded himself to get nose plugs if he ever returned to the gym.

He quickly hurried to the receptionist, a teenage girl that was reading a magazine. She laughed at him when she noticed him – Ash had given into the stink and was doing his best to cover his nose with his hand.

"First time here, huh?" She asked. Ash nodded. "It'll get better in a few minutes. Anyways, I guess you're here to battle Erika."

Ash nodded again. She glanced down at a clipboard and picked up a pencil. He could see her cross a few things out before she looked up again.

"Looks like it's your lucky day. There aren't any other challengers scheduled yet. You can just go on through. She'll be waiting in the garden. Just go in the door to your left."

"Thanks." He coughed out before following her instructions. The door took him into a small hallway. Ash kept on walking and ended up in a large garden with all manner of grass-types. Most seemed to scurry away when he appeared, although a few of the more powerful or curious ones just stared at him.

He felt a little uncomfortable under their intense gazes and ignored it as best as he could. Ash walked a little bit deeper into the garden in order to try and find Erika. She wouldn't be too difficult to find.

Ash wandered around a bit before he finally found her in an area by the stadium. She was sitting by a small artificial pond, surrounded by oddish, a large gloom, and a bulbasaur. He was instantly reminded of Amelia's and winced, although he put it out of mind. Now wasn't the time for reminiscing.

"Oh, hello." She said calmly, carefully setting an oddish down before she stood up. Ash glanced at her for a moment, taking her in. The best word to describe was elegant – everything about her seemed dignified, from the careful, graceful way she moved to her aristocratic tones. "I suppose you're here to battle me?"

He nodded. She smiled and walked over to the battlefield. Ash followed and noticed that, contrary to what he had expected, the battlefield was completely plain. There were a few plants scattered about it and ordinarily hard, tightly packed dirt was replaced with dark, loamy soil, but that was the full extent of the modifications.

"This shall be a three-on-three battle." Erika called out when they had taken their positions. "The battle shall continue until one of us either surrenders or our pokemon are knocked unconscious or rendered unable to battle."

Ash nodded and placed a hand on Dazed's pokeball. While Nidorino would likely have just as easy a time defeating the grass-types, he suspected that Erika would start out with her powerful Gloom. Nidorino or Plume would still have been able to defeat it, but he wanted Dazed to get in some more experience.

He released Dazed when he saw the gym leader release a pokemon. When the red light coalesced into the form of their pokemon, his expectations were fulfilled. Erika's large, powerful Gloom was sleepily looking at Dazed, meeting the drowzee's dull gaze with its own.

Surprisingly enough, the appearance of the gloom didn't empower the noxious scent that pervaded the area. Ash was thankful for that – he was just beginning to get used to it.

Erika began the battle. "Stun spore. Continue with acid and sleep powder."

"Dodge, follow with confusion."

Despite Dazed's awkward shape, she was still able to avoid the attacks of the Gloom. Ash made a mental note to avoid that part of the battlefield – the stun spore and sleep powder was neutralized, but the acid would still be somewhat dangerous.

Ash grinned when Dazed stared at the Gloom's half-closed eyes. He doubted that the Gloom would be able to stay conscious after this powerful attack. If it did, it would be easy pickings for Dazed.

The attack went just as planned – Dazed raised a clawed hand at the Gloom and took control of it. Ash grinned as the Gloom was suffused by a large blue aura of light. A moment later the Gloom was yanked high into the air by psychic power and slammed into the ground.

He expected the battle to be over then – while the actual slam might not have done that much, being in touch with psychic power weakened and hurt poison-types.

But the attack didn't seem to do as much as he had hoped. Gloom pulled itself up quickly and stared at Dazed in annoyance. Its eyes were fully open now.

"I've trained my dear Gloom to be strong against such attacks." Erika shouted, her loud tone contrasting with the soft, quiet image she put up. "Now, petal dance!"

Ash didn't have to tell his pokemon to dodge as Gloom began to rapidly spin, firing out dozens of sharp, pink petals. Dazed was too slow to avoid many of the petals, however, and was hit by almost all of them. She put up a psychic barrier to protect her from some of the damage, but it still weakened her greatly. The trainer knew she wouldn't be able to take much more damage after being hit by such a powerful move.

"Hypnosis!" He cried. Dazed quickly followed his command, raising her arms into the air and staring at the Gloom. Pink energy floated off of her body and floated at the opponent, transforming into purple blobs as they hit Gloom.

Erika wouldn't let him win that easily. "Sunny beam!"

Despite the energy Dazed was focusing on subverting the Gloom's will and putting it to sleep, Gloom stayed strong and followed Erika's commands. Ash was impressed with its willpower – Dazed was pretty good with hypnosis, so it must have been incredibly strong to resist the psychic attack.

Unfortunately, he realized what was going on. Gloom was using Sunny Day, intensifying the sun's rays and making a particular, potent attack readily available.

"Hurry up, Dazed!" He shouted as cold realization swept over him. "It's about to use solar beam!"

Dazed certainly got the message. Ash watched with bated breath as the drowzee produced more energy, focused entirely on bending Gloom to her will before it could unleash the devastating attack. Eventually it seemed that she had succeeded – Gloom's eyes were beginning to close, although bright white energy continued to gather in its flower.

"Focus, Gloom." Erika said calmly. Despite the soft tone, Gloom was snapped back into reality by its trainer's words. Still, Ash could tell that it wasn't fully there, as it only seemed able to focus on gathering energy.

And then it released the power it had gathered. Ash shouted at Dazed to dodge as Gloom focused the energy into a powerful, blinding beam of energy. He had to focus on Dazed, but could still trace the bright beam at the sides of his vision.

It soon became clear that there was no need. Although Dazed hadn't succeeded in putting the powerful Gloom to sleep, she had succeeded in disorienting it. The Gloom still had the ability to use the devastating solar beam, but couldn't properly aim it.

Ash shrank back when the wildly aimed beam flashed towards him, but the barriers in front of him stopped the attack, albeit with a small degree of difficulty. He soon returned his focus to the battle and decided to take advantage of the Gloom's temporary distraction.

He figured that it was time to use an attack that he had been working on with Dazed during the journey to Celadon. They hadn't quite perfected it, but it was still more than powerful enough to knock out Gloom. Even if Gloom was resistant to psychic attacks, it was exhausted from the solar beam and the failed hypnosis.

"Psybeam!"

Dazed calmly gazed at the weakened Gloom as she focused her energy. Ash grinned at Erika's frantic pleas for Gloom to dodge it – that meant she was scared.

His grin widened as he saw a beam of multicolored energy blast from Dazed's eyes. It worked perfectly, and struck the Gloom with a great deal of psychic power. For a moment the Gloom remained standing, staying resolute in the face of its defeat. But then its strength failed and it collapsed to the ground unconscious.

"Good job, Dazed!" He called out. Dazed turned back and looked at him for a moment.

Erika took the time to send out her next choice, a large tangela. Ash studied it for a moment before returning Dazed. He saw her look back at him in relief before the energy suffused her and took her back into the pokeball.

Plume erupted onto the field a few moments later, announcing her arrival with a loud shriek. She flew around the confines of the field for a few moments before Ash gave her an order.

"Gust, follow with wing attack." He muttered. Plume quickly followed the quiet commands, blasting the Tangela with a gust of wing. The Tangela managed to keep itself upright and prepared a few of its vines.

As Plume dived towards the Tangela at a high speed, Erika made her own move.

"Vine whip, absorb, and bind." She said serenely. Tangela enacted the orders so quickly that Ash couldn't warn Plume. Its vines snapped out at unnaturally fast speeds and slammed into Plume with incredible force, slamming her into the ground.

It then waddled over to Plume and entangled it with its vines, leaving the bird immobile and helpless. Ash winced as the vines restricting Plume began to glow a bright white, digging into Plume and absorbing her energy. In just a few seconds she was exhausted, unable to do anything despite Ash's pleas.

"Slam." Erika said calmly, her tone belying the brutality of the order.

Plume was knocked unconscious when the Tangela brutally raised her and slammed her into the ground in a scene reminiscent of Dazed using confusion on the Gloom. Ash gritted his teeth and recalled his beaten pokemon, hoping she would be alright and angry that she hadn't been given a chance to really fight.

It was time to get serious.

Nidorino appeared on the field, powerful and strong. Ash grinned as he saw the barbs extend and drip clear venom.

"Nidorino." He called. His friend continued staring at the Tangela, but his large ears tensed and twitched. "Don't hold back. Focus attack."

The large creature growled and tensed up, focusing its strength temporarily to vastly increase its power. Nidorino then charged at the Tangela quickly, leaving none of its power in reserve as it slammed into the surprised Tangela with its horn, jabbing the Tangela painfully and throwing it several feet away.

Ash smiled. Focus attack was a new combo he'd made during their journey to Celadon. It was just a combination of focus energy and horn attack. Perhaps he wasn't the most creative when it came to naming his attacks, but the powerful combination worked well, so it didn't really matter.

Horn attack was powerful enough on its own, but when Nidorino's strength was amplified by focus energy…well, it could do quite a bit of damage.

Erika seemed stunned, perhaps expecting the rest of his pokemon to be a trivial matter to defeat. But she soon recovered and sent out a Weepinbell.

"Razor leaf." She commanded tersely, a bit of anger seeping into her tone. "Then use sleep powder and slam."

"Focus attack." He ordered again. There were plenty of other ways he could have proceeded, but he wanted to finish this up and get Plume to the Pokemon Center. She wouldn't be badly harmed by the brutal attack, but he wanted her to be out of pain as quickly as possible.

Although Erika tried to warn her Weepinbell, it was too slow to avoid the danger. Nidorino charged at it, slamming his horn into the firm flesh and throwing it several feet away. He slammed into it when it wasn't immediately knocked unconscious.

When the stunned Erika recalled her pokemon, Ash congratulated Nidorino. He didn't bother recalling his friend as he stepped out of the challenger's box and walked over to Erika. She seemed annoyed at her defeat, but it was quickly wiped away from her features.

"You did well." She said serenely as she withdrew the Rainbow Badge from a pocket. "You have proven your skill and have shown that you deserve this badge."

Ash carefully took it from her and examined it. The badge was more stylized and colorful than the others he had collected. It was shaped like a flower, showing grass, with rainbow colored petals. He looked at it for a few more seconds before withdrawing his badge case and carefully placing it into the fourth slot.

"By the way," Erika began, "return here one day. I would like a rematch. But for now, I suggest you return to the Pokemon Center. Your pidgeotto suffered quite a bit."

He nodded at the mention of the rematch and had to hold back a grimace and glare at the mention of Plume. Ash just said, "Alright." After that, he quickly left the gym and its disgusting scent. Ash wasn't exactly happy with it right now.

XX

Plume was currently in stasis. She had moderately severe injuries, although nothing that would permanently damage her. But she would be staying in the Pokemon Center for a day as the Nurse Joys did whatever it was they did. After that she wouldn't be able to battle for a week, since the damage she suffered bruised most of her body, which would be exhausted by the healing process anyways.

Ash was annoyed that Nurse Joy wouldn't let him see his friend, but could understand it somewhat. Plume needed to heal, and the excitement and worry that Ash would bring might pull her out of stasis and into consciousness. Still, that didn't mean he liked it. He wanted nothing more than to go and sit by her as she healed.

At least Dazed was fine. She wasn't badly hurt by the petal dance to begin with, so he just had to buy a weak potion to give her. After she'd drunk it she was perfectly fine, if a little tired. In a day or two she'd be back to normal.

Right now, though, he was wandering Celadon in an attempt to forget about his worries. He couldn't do anything about it right now, and sulking wouldn't help anything. Besides, maybe he would find something interesting.

Now that he thought of it, there was supposed to be a Game Corner in the city. It was also supposed to be pretty close to the Pokemon Center, less than half an hour away. While he wasn't supposed to go into places like that – his mom would kill him if she ever found out – it was perfectly legal.

If someone was old enough to wander the world and be around creatures capable of breathing fire and crushing stone, gambling wasn't a big deal.

Despite the silent voice of his mother chiding him for even thinking about gambling, he found himself in front of the Game Corner soon enough. He didn't go in for a while, instead opting to just look at it.

The Game Corner was different than any of the other buildings in the city. It wasn't quite as gaudy as he'd imagined, given the wild stories and descriptions of it he'd heard, but it was still bright and flashy – obnoxious, really.

Flashing lights displayed the names of businesses and people that Ash had never heard of. Bright colors and grinning faces covered the outside, along with the name of it, "The Game Corner".

All in all, Ash wasn't too impressed. It wasn't as though he was about to gamble in the first place – although he had quite a bit of money thanks to his numerous victories, he knew that if he started he would just keep on playing until he had nothing left.

Still, curiosity at what was so appealing about this place made him go inside. He felt a little awkward amongst all the adults venturing freely into the room, but there were quite a few trainers his own age and some a few years older. No one paid him a second glance.

Ash still couldn't see the big deal about this place. It was full of slot machines, which looked somewhat interesting, and tables for other games, but nothing really exciting. He would much rather be battling right now.

Nevertheless, he continued walking around. He recognized most of the games, although a few were unknown to him. Ash didn't bother going up to the front desk to get a Coin Case, instead opting to explore.

After a few more minutes of this, he grew bored. He had found himself in a mostly empty area of the Game Corner, far from the casino and seemingly only existing for employees. Ash was about to return to the outside and find something else to occupy his time when he saw a door, made to look unobtrusive and hidden in a shadowed corner.

His curiosity spiked, Ash checked to see if there was anything that told him not to go in. There was nothing.

Since it looked like he wouldn't get in trouble for entering, he pushed in. Although nothing prohibited him from going in, Ash didn't want anybody catching him. So he was careful when he walked through the door.

It opened into a long hallway that branched off into several others. Ash glanced around as he slowly made his way down the hall. The walls were bare and grey; a stark contrast to the ostentatious Game Corner. He almost wondered if he had gone into a different building.

Ash took the first turn that came up. It led to yet another long hallway. He continued walking down it, wondering where everybody was. Maybe this was just an abandoned section of the Game Corner, or maybe they had just built it. The trainer couldn't think of any other reason as to why it was so dull in regards to the rest of the Game Corner and seemingly empty.

Eventually the hallway reached a set of stairs. Ash hadn't taken any turns this time, realizing that it wouldn't be a good thing if he got lost in here. There wasn't a way to differentiate the areas and he wanted to be able to easily remember his way back.

He cautiously crept down the stairs. It was a rather long flight, but he could see a plain, unmarked door at the bottom. Since he knew exactly where he was, he decided to go down and see what was in the abandoned section.

Ash quietly pushed the doors open and stepped through. The room he entered was far different than the spartan design of the section that he had just left. It seemed more professional; more like an office than the grey walls of the abandoned section or the glitzy casino.

It was pristine. White walls, perfectly arranged potted plants, and an unnerving absence of dirt or grime perfected the image. He looked around curiously for a moment before going on. This must be where the administration was, although he wasn't sure why it was in such an out of the way place.

As he walked through, two men walked in through the only door in the room. They were laughing and talking as they entered, but that wasn't what attracted his attention. What attracted his attention was the black uniforms they wore and the crimson R emblazoned across their chests.

His blood froze. Memories of a pale, limp man huddled into the fetal position flashed through his mind. A sinking cruise ship, a cruel man with blue hair, and the stinking rot of a muk enveloping him took its place an instant later.

"…and then those idiots spend a hundred thousand on a bunch of balloons and really expensive machinery. Can't imagine why the boss granted it – that Michael guy is bad news. His pokemon are strong, but it isn't worth it when one could probably tear this facility down in a few minutes."

"Yeah." The other man said with a nod. "I get what you're saying. Maybe he has a plan for that kid. Or maybe he's just trying to keep those idiots and their talking cat busy and far away from here. It would be great if they all got killed. I mean, if he really wanted those pokemon he could send anyone but the idiots – they'd have a better chance."

The first man snorted. "Damn right. Anyways, have you heard what Proton's up to? He's supposed to be…wait, what the hell is that kid doing down here. We haven't gotten any new recruits."

Ash stared hatefully at the man, anger he had never known before bubbling up to the surface like magma. His fingers gripped tightly around Nidorino's ball.

The second man growled. "Look, kid, take your hand off that pokeball if you don't want to get hurt. Do you really think you can beat us?"

Two bursts of scarlet light was Ash's answer. Common sense was telling him to flee, but the memories of the St. Anne and the burning desire for justice overruled it. The grunts he'd met before weren't particularly impressive, so he figured he could at least overpower these before leaving and heading to the authorities.

"Well, looks like we've got ourselves a hero." The first man grinned. "Don't be easy on the brat, but don't kill him either. I want to know how he got in here. Victor and Hugo were supposed to be guarding the outer door."

Ash scowled at the putrid, oozing grimer that appeared from one of the grunt's pokeball's. A koffing joined it a few moments later, spitting its oily, stinking smoke out.

"Dazed, psybeam on grimer, repeat. Nidorino, protect her."

He'd been careful in choosing his pokemon. Grimer could badly poison anything that came in contact with them since they didn't have the fine control of their toxins like muk. Koffing weren't anywhere near as volatile, but he'd like to take it down from a distance.

Dazed had the psychic power that badly hurt poison-types and could safely disable the more dangerous ones. Nidorino would be completely immune to their toxins and dangerous presence – the chief danger in dealing with poison-types – and could protect Dazed if they got too close.

The Rockets clearly hadn't trained much with their pokemon. Their commands were long, overly complex, and slow to come out. By the time they'd finished telling their pokemon what to do – revealing their entire strategy to Ash in the process – Dazed had prepared her psybeam.

It flashed at the more dangerous grimer, quickly impacting it and blasting sludge all over the room. Ash noticed that it was markedly more powerful than when Dazed had used it on Erika's Gloom, although it wasn't lethal. He was glad – the Rocket's pokemon were broken and abused, he didn't want them to die. It wasn't their fault they were being used like that.

Still, grimer wouldn't be fighting any time soon. It was clearly unconscious, as it was no longer attempting to maintain a form. Instead it was just a large, toxic puddle on the floor.

"Use explosion!" The second one cried out in a panic. Ash froze when he heard the command and saw the koffing concentrate heavily as it prepared to release its energy.

He had nothing to worry about. Dazed had already unleashed another psybeam, which flashed through the air and slammed into the koffing. The small pokemon was deflated and unconscious.

"Hypnosis!" He ordered, the rage at Team Rocket subsiding into a more refined, cold anger. "Don't put them to sleep though, just keep them from doing anything. Nidorino, make sure they don't escape and watch out for the door."

Dazed quickly carried out his orders. Her hypnosis was nearly instant – she didn't have to put as much effort into doing it to humans, especially since Ash didn't want them fully asleep. One tried to run away, but Nidorino was too fast for him. The powerful pokemon charged at the fleeing man and slammed him to the side. He wouldn't be going anywhere for a while, especially since Dazed quickly put him under her hypnosis.

Ash walked over to the nearest Rocket, trusting in his pokemon to keep him safe. The Rocket was completely helpless – the hypnosis made him too exhausted to struggle or attempt to attack Ash, although he was still aware and able to answer any questions he had.

Although he was going to leave soon – he didn't want to be in a Team Rocket stronghold alone and with only two pokemon to use – he wanted to have some evidence to bring to the police. He couldn't let this operation go on.

"What do you do here?" He asked, trying to remember the questions people always asked on those shows his mom liked. Ash kept his voice as calm as possible, letting only a bit of his anger leak through.

The man sleepily looked up at him. He seemed to struggle for a moment, but Dazed raised one of her hands, apparently using some sort of persuasion on him. Ash was very glad that he had a psychic pokemon.

"This is a base that we use to supply our agents in Celadon." He said quickly, as though he had memorized it. "It is also a research facility, where we test experimental drugs and compounds in order to see their effects on pokemon."

Ash's interest was aroused, despite the fact that he knew that he would hate the answer he would be given.

"What kind of drugs?"

"Things that make the little monsters bloodthirsty and full of hate." The grunt said with a nasty grin. His professional, detached tone was gone. Now it was filled with malice. "Drugs that make the monsters go insane, but make them strong. Sometimes they backfire and warp it, but that's only when the spooks mess up. Or when they're bored."

Ash's vision flashed red. He fought back the urge to punch the man in the face. The trainer glanced over at Dazed.

"Put all of them to sleep. Nidorino, push them into that corner."

His commands were quickly followed. Dazed easily forced the grunts to sleep and prolonged the pokemon's unconsciousness. The bodies were quickly pushed into a corner of the room filled with plants.

Ash wasn't sure what to do next. He wanted to just run back to the police and tell them about this place, but he knew that they might not listen to him. Or worse, Team Rocket would just clear out in the time it took to mobilize any sort of force to invade the stronghold.

Still, while he was sure he could take on quite a few grunts with little to no trouble if they were all this weak, he didn't want to be going in without anyone knowing where he was. He was going to do the best he could to defeat the grunts, but he didn't want to just be locked up forever if he was beaten.

Then he remembered the PokeNav. He quickly yanked the useful tool off of his belt, incredibly grateful to Steven at that moment. Ash pressed the blue button and held the tool with nervous hands as the device smoothly unfolded, revealing a small black screen.

He punched in a few numbers and called the police. The PokeNav automatically sent the call to the nearest police force, so, in this case, Celadon City. As an afterthought, he lowered the volume. It was up pretty high so that he could hear his mom in the loud Pokemon Center.

"Hello, how can we help you?" A bored Officer Jenny said. Ash made sure to stand out of the camera's way – he didn't want to be seen by the police. They might ignore him just because of his age.

"There's a Team Rocket base hidden in the Games Corner." He said, doing his best to lower his voice. The result was closer to a comical attempt than a convincing display. That didn't matter though, since it still disguised his voice. "It's in the empty section. Go down the hallway, take the first right, and keep going straight until you reach stairs. Head down the stairs and you'll enter the compound."

Officer Jenny was paying attention now. "Is this some sort of sick joke?" She demanded.

Ash frowned. "No. Let me show you some proof."

He carefully picked up the device and walked over to the pile of bodies. Ash aimed the camera towards the distinctive uniforms. Officer Jenny gasped when she saw them.

"They're still alive." He said, his voice shifting into its natural range. "Just asleep."

"A team will be sent there immediately." Officer Jenny said. Her voice was stern and professional. "Get out of there."

His response was to cut the phone off. He didn't think that they could trace PokeNavs yet – they were new in Hoenn, and almost entirely unknown in Kanto – but he didn't want to take that much of a risk. All Ash wanted to do was do his best to damage Team Rocket and then escape before attracting more attention to him.

"Alright, buddies, let's go."

Nidorino grunted in response and walked in front of him. Dazed kept to his side, prepared to fight any sudden threats. Ash had a moment of uncertainty about this, but the anger at Team Rocket and the memories of their horrible deeds overwhelmed it.

The door opened up into a short hallway. It had the same perfectly clean and professional style of the previous room and had two doors on each side of it. Ash opened up the first door on his right and glanced in. A Rocket grunt was sitting down at a computer.

"Hypnosis." Ash whispered. Dazed quickly raised a clawed hand, focusing her psychic energy and sending out the pink energy. It latched onto the grunt quickly, the overwhelming power of the attack crushing his will and forcing him to sleep.

He stepped into the room cautiously, glancing around. Aside from a few computers, he didn't see anything. When he reached the grunt, he quickly removed the lone pokeball from the unconscious man's belt.

Ash looked for a place to hide it. Even though he didn't think the grunt would be waking up any time soon, he didn't want to be surprised.

Soon enough he found the perfect spot: one of the potted plants. Ash forced the ball down into the soft soil and smoothed it over. It would take a while for the grunt to find it.

When that was over with, he moved on. He quietly left the room and shut the door. The trainer glanced down the hall to make sure there weren't any grunts coming his way. After he was assured that there wasn't, he stepped to the room across from this one and silently creaked the door open.

Two grunts, both at computers. Ash pushed the door open some more and glanced at Dazed. She raised both of her hands and sent the pink energy at each of them. They were put to sleep almost instantly, although one tried to fight it.

When they were unconscious, Ash repeated the same process. Each had two pokeballs this time, so he had to be a bit more creative. Two went into the potted plants in the corner of the room, while he stuffed the others into the small gap between the beams supporting the large desks and the desk itself. When the last two were wedged in tightly, Ash moved on.

The other rooms were much the same – both had two grunts inside, which were easily dispatched. Ash repeated the process of hiding their pokeballs and moved on. He followed the right turn the hallway took, but ran into two more grunts walking towards him.

"What the hell?" One asked in confusion when he saw Ash. He just stared at him oddly until he saw Dazed and Nidorino. "We're under attack!"

Both sent out large, angry raticate. Ash was reminded of Amelia's raticate for a moment, but suppressed it. Now wasn't the time for that.

"Use hyper fang!" The second grunt shouted. His raticate quickly followed the order, skittering towards Nidorino with bared teeth.

"Hypnosis on the back one." Ash ordered. "Nidorino, horn attack."

Nidorino growled before charging the raticate. Although the raticate tried to use the powerful hyper fang attack on the larger pokemon, Nidorino sent it flying backwards with the force of his horn attack. Ash winced as the rat slammed into the ground. It wouldn't be battling for a while.

Meanwhile, Dazed had already put the second raticate to sleep. The grunts tried to pull out another pokeball, but Ash had Dazed use hypnosis. They collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Ash looked at them in disgust before walking past them. "Let's go. The police should be here soon and I want to beat as many as I can."

Nidorino grunted in agreement before racing a little bit ahead of Ash, prepared to guard the trainer against any threat. Dazed just quietly plodded along behind them.

They took many turns in the large compound, travelling deeper and deeper underneath Celadon. Quite a few Rockets were taken by surprise and disabled by Dazed, saving Ash the trouble of defeating their pokemon. Ash only had to battle five or six of the grunts, and all were easily defeated by Nidorino and dazed.

He was almost disappointed in how easy this was. Team Rocket was supposed to be the most dangerous criminal organization in Kanto, dwarfing and assimilating almost all others. Ash knew that they were dangerous and willing to commit horrible atrocities – his own experiences could attest to that – but on the individual level, they were quite weak.

Maybe these were just the throwaways, he mused as he travelled into yet another room. It seemed to be much larger than the others and much darker – only a few dim lights illuminated the room, and they were all too weak to let Ash see what was going on.

He had a bad feeling about this, and that feeling was realized when he stepped into it. The lights in the room flashed on, lighting the large room.

Ash wished he had never entered this place. He was in the laboratory, or wherever it was that the Rockets tested their horrifying drugs.

There were dozens of pokemon in small, cylindrical containers. The containers were roughly ten feet high – they went from floor to ceiling – and four feet around. They were made of a clear, glass-like material, although Ash knew that it had to be something much tougher.

Some of the pokemon imprisoned and subjected to the horror of this place were rather mundane – small, haggard rattata, pidgey that flapped their wings and attempted to fly through the glass, or pikachu that angrily released all of their power in attacks on the containers.

Others were more uncommon or rare: rhydon raging and thrashing, a lone magmar doing nothing at all, as though it were in stasis, and a single eevee pathetically curled up into a huddled ball.

All of the poor creatures looked as though they were insane or broken. Most of the raging ones had small tubes connected to their body, cleanly inserted. A clear substance was being fed into their bodies, likely giving them the drugs Ash had heard of. Ash gritted his teeth and clenched his hands tightly. This was an abomination.

Nidorino growled deeply at the spectacle, but did nothing. Dazed's eyes began to glow a bit, but she never used her power. Judging from how the other pokemon's attacks did nothing to the containers, Ash wasn't surprised that she didn't waste the energy on attacking the seemingly invulnerable material.

"Let's go." He growled, his cold anger flashing with waves of hatred again. "We can't do anything here. The police will free them."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." An amused voice spoke up from behind him. Ash quickly whirled around and groaned. Three grunts were behind him, all with their pokemon out. "You won't get out of here fast enough to warn them, brat. In fact, you're going to be down here for a very long time."

Ash scowled, but hid the glee that spiked through him. The Rockets didn't know that he'd phoned the police. They wouldn't be packing up any time soon. Certainly not fast enough to escape the wrath of the League.

"Of course, you seem to be a slippery little bastard." The grunt sneered. "So, I guess we'll just have to alert everyone else regardless."

He pulled out a small device and pressed a large red button. Ash inwardly groaned when alarms began to go off, causing a long blaring sound and making the alarm lights flash a bright red. It looked like he wouldn't be sneaking up on any grunts after this.

"And now, you can either give up peacefully or we will –"

The grunt had no time to finish. Dazed released a powerful psybeam that hit the lead grunt first, blasting him back and leaving him unconscious. Then she swung it towards the other grunts and their pokemon, knocking the grunts out but only weakening the pokemon. Only one was knocked out, a small grimer.

"Huh. Didn't know you could do that." He muttered. "Nidorino take care of that ekans and raticate. Dazed, psybeam."

The raticate growled and ran towards Dazed, apparently seeing her as an easier target. A psybeam directly to the face dissuaded it of that notion, hurling it back and slamming it into the wall. Dazed sent out a second psybeam afterwards, blasting the raticate once more and knocking it out.

Nidorino seemed to be having a bit of trouble with the ekans. Although they had fought the snake pokemon before – they were commonly used around Celadon, so he had battled many trainers with them – this one was particularly fierce and actually posed a challenge. Ash was surprised it hadn't evolved by now.

He didn't bother giving Nidorino commands – they were too close, and Nidorino knew what to do best when faced with close combat. All he would do was slow his friend down. It wasn't as though Nidorino knew many moves he could pull off instantly that would actually hit the fast, evasive ekans.

His friend grunted as the ekans bit him, but his tough hide kept the fangs from penetrating his skin. Nidorino ignored the pain and took the opportunity to jab the ekans with his horn. It didn't actually hurt the ekans – its scales were too hard for the horn to penetrate without momentum – but the force knocked it backwards and stunned it for a moment.

That moment was all Nidorino needed. His friend charged at the stunned snake and slammed into it, hurling the lighter pokemon backwards into the wall. Nidorino wasn't done, however. He quickly ran over to the ekans and reared up before stomping on it with incredible force.

The damage from the attack knocked the ekans out, although Ash could see that it wouldn't die or even be disabled from battling for more than a few days at the most. Still, all he needed was the ekans unconscious. As long as it didn't wake up for a while, everything would be fine.

"Let's get going." He said. "We need to get out of here before more arrive. The police will arrive soon, so let's do as much as much damage as we can."

His friends nodded in agreement. Ash took one last sorrowful look at the lab before moving on. He was getting vengeance on the Rockets – now he just had a few more victims to avenge.

XX

He noticed that it was getting much more difficult to fight through the Rockets when they knew he was there. They were staying in pairs and trios now, making every battle more difficult. The Rockets were also getting more powerful and more disciplined – whether that was because he wasn't surprising them or a real increase in their quality wasn't known to him.

Nevertheless, he continued tearing through them. Dazed and Nidorino were getting a little bit tired, but they were driven by their desire to hurt Team Rocket.

The only battle they really had trouble in was when four grunts ambushed them. All of their pokemon were more powerful than the norm for Rocket grunts, but they couldn't match the combined might of Dazed – whose psychic abilities gave her quite an advantage over the poison-types – and Nidorino, whose raw power and skill enabled him to crush the pokemon that tried to fight him.

Eventually, however, he found that there weren't any more of the grunts. Just a long stream of unconscious bodies and pokemon behind him. Ash was wary of any that were waiting in ambush, but he couldn't find any. Neither could Dazed or Nidorino.

He continued following the single hallway. Although it branched off into many rooms and had many turns, it had never branched off into another hallway aside from the first time. It made finding all the possible Rockets and anything important much easier.

Ash eventually ran into another pair of grunts. These seemed more important though – they didn't wear the masks that made the other grunts anonymous and faceless. They also wore different uniforms, grey instead of black.

And they each had a more powerful and evolved pokemon out, unlike the weak ones used by the grunts. Ash cautiously looked at them. Both were large and powerful looking – a gigantic, thick arbok and a hissing golbat. The grunts glared at him before giving orders to their pokemon.

"Arbok, fire fang." The one on the left ordered. His massive, powerful looking arbok gladly followed his order, quickly slithering to Nidorino with a maw filled with flame.

"Psybeam!" Ash shouted in a panic. "Nidorino, focus attack on arbok!"

Dazed seemed to focus all of her power into the psybeam. The beam was brighter and more intense than what he'd seen previously, and although smaller it was more focused. It slammed into arbok, suffusing the serpent with a multicolored aura.

Although arbok was weakened, it wasn't knocked out from the powerful attack. Nidorino took advantage of its temporary disadvantage to focus its energy before charging at the snake. He impacted the arbok with incredible force, further stunning it but still failing to knock it out.

The other grunt finally acted, apparently realizing the arbok wouldn't be able to win alone. "Hyper beam. Aim for that drowzee and then the brat."

Ash looked for something to hide behind when he heard the order. It wouldn't stop a fully powered hyper beam, but maybe he could make it not kill him. When he found nothing he clenched his fists and got ready to try to jump out of the way.

He shouldn't have bothered. Even as the golbat prepared the incredibly powerful blast of energy, Dazed moved to protect Ash. A psybeam just as powerful as the one that struck arbok slammed into golbat. The golbat screeched angrily as it was hurled backwards, but its attempt to use the hyper beam was cut off.

Ash nodded his thanks at Dazed, whose eyes were glowing brightly in anger. "Confusion on golbat."

Golbat had no chance to resist the psychic attack. Dazed easily took control of the golbat's mind with her mastery of the attack. The bat turned on its former master, hissing and flailing as Dazed awkwardly manipulated its body.

The Rocket had no chance to avoid the golbat's frantic attacks. A wing smacked him in the face with great force, sending him to his back and stunning him. Dazed seemed to lose control of the golbat after that, but knocked it out by forcing it to fly as high as it could and then into the ground.

Ash had kept an eye on Nidorino, but hadn't been paying as much attention to him. His friend was dominating the weakened arbok, jabbing it with his horn and dodging its fast, vicious strikes. By now the arbok was slowing as the numerous injuries inflicted upon it took their toll.

By the time he was able to pay full attention to his friend's fight, Nidorino was already about to knock the arbok unconscious. Ash glanced over at the last grunt, who refused to leave the battle and continued to shout out commands to the rapidly weakening arbok.

"Hypnosis."

Dazed performed her most useful ability quickly, causing the grunt to crumple to the ground in unconsciousness. Ash just glared at the body for a moment before returning his focus to the battle. Nidorino had taken advantage of the arbok's confusion at the lack of commands from its master to jab it painfully with his horn, finally knocking it out.

Ash looked at the bodies of the grunts in disgust before moving on. He wasn't sure how much more Nidorino could take. This was a hard battle for him if the small dents in his hide from the arbok's sharp fangs and the slight sluggishness with which he moved were any indication. Combined with the exhaustion he had to be feeling from fighting his way through legions of much weaker pokemon, his friend would probably be knocked out soon.

One more room, he promised himself. These Rockets were much more powerful than the others he had faced, so he had to either be reaching the end or reaching a very important place. Either one meant that he could strike a real blow against Team Rocket.

If he had successfully cleared an entire hideout by himself, then he could know that he was capable of doing real damage against them and that he had little to fear from the average member. If he managed to take something important or detain an important member, then he could strike a huge blow against them.

Ash gave him and his pokemon a few minutes to rest before entering the room. It looked like he was in an entirely different building. Instead of the clean, pristine design of the other rooms, this one reeked of luxury. He was reminded of the St. Anne.

Large, expensive carpets covered the floor of the room. Paintings and banners with Team Rocket's emblem on them filled the walls. A large, mahogany desk was in the center of the room. On the wall behind it, a small plaque held the Rocket motto.

"Steal pokemon for profit. Exploit pokemon for profit. All pokemon exist for the glory of Team Rocket."

He scowled and turned his attention to the inhabitant of the room. The man was tall, even if he was sitting down behind the desk, and stern looking. Something about the man seemed dark and cruel – his pale skin seemed to have a shadow cast over it and his eyes seemed fake somehow, too dispassionate and blank to be real.

And then everything about the man subtly shifted until it revealed an entirely different person. In the place of the tall, dark man a hunched man with a purple Mohawk appeared.

"Ah, so you're our little intruder!" He said jovially as he stood up. The man gave an awkward little bow. "Welcome to my base. Of course, it was quite rude of you to battle your way here, but I can forgive you. By the way, what did you think of that little trick? It takes quite a bit of practice to pull off that well."

Ash looked at him oddly and took a step back. This wasn't how he'd imagined a Team Rocket leader to be. He had thought that they would all be like Pierce: cold, threatening, and cruel beneath a thin shell of sanity.

The man seemed to pick up on his thoughts. He gave a wide grin. "Ah, I suppose I'm not what you expected, eh? Executive Petrel, Team Rocket's resident master of disguise and commander of the Celadon hideout at your service!"

He just stared at the Executive, taken aback. The Executive smiled again.

"Well, I'm obligated to inform you of a standing offer to join Team Rocket!" He said flamboyantly. "While I'm sure that you won't accept, it's still there. My boss wants skilled individuals such as yourself in our little organization. Age doesn't really matter, after all."

"No."

Petrel smiled and shrugged. "Oh well, I had to try. Anyways, I suppose this is the part where we battle?"

Ash couldn't say anything before the strange man threw out three pokeballs at once. A golbat, koffing, and raticate were revealed as the scarlet energy solidified.

The Executive gave a little sigh. "I'm afraid this group won't give such a powerful trainer much of a challenge. My real team hasn't been sent over from headquarters yet." A grin crossed over his face. "Of course, you could always accompany me there yourself. It would save me quite a bit of trouble."

He didn't have time for this. "Psybeam on the koffing. Focus horn on raticate. Follow with confusion on golbat."

The koffing was instantly knocked out by the psybeam, and raticate barely had time to hear Petrel's calm order to dodge before being hit by the full power of Nidorino's attack. Ash grinned when he saw the raticate slump over in unconsciousness. Golbat was quickly taken control of by confusion and forced to slam itself into the ground.

"Hypnosis." He ordered; glee at so easily defeating the Executive overtaking him. Ash frowned when he realized that the grinning Rocket Executive was still awake and none of the pink energy had been released.

He glanced over at Dazed to see what was wrong, but shrank back when he saw a large floating mass of purple shadow hovering over his friend's frozen body. Two clawed hands were holding his friend in place as a long, wide tongue licked Dazed.

Ash knew what that thing was. A haunter – a powerful, mischievous pokemon that did not mean good things for him. Haunter were susceptible to the emotions and mind of their trainers. If this one had become more like Petrel, well, it was dangerous.

Dazed had no chance against the surprise attack. The haunter's lick sapped her of all energy and almost instantly knocked the tired psychic unconscious. Ash watched with horror as it turned towards him and gave a wide, toothy grin before lazily floating over to Nidorino, who was finishing off the golbat.

"Nidorino, watch out!" He shouted. "It's a haunter."

Nidorino looked back at the haunter, but was suddenly distracted by a large blast of flame that barely missed him. Ash looked at the source of the fire – a small but powerful looking houndoom that had somehow remained hidden. It leapt at Nidorino with bared fangs and a flaming maw, but it couldn't do anything before Haunter had reached the distracted pokemon and grabbed it with its clawed, ethereal hands.

Ash was paralyzed with the fear Haunter brought in its wake. All he could do was watch as it casually restrained Nidorino and gave it a long lick, ignoring the long rows of poisonous barbs. Nidorino instantly froze, although Ash could see him shivering a bit.

Petrel seemed perfectly at home with the sudden chaos. He stepped forward with a silly grin on his face, although Ash couldn't consider him a harmless, awkward fool anymore. Although he didn't show any obvious malice, he was just as dangerous as Pierce. Ash grimaced as the Executive's grin widened.

"Sorry about the deception." He said sincerely. "But I saw some of the security footage with you battling. This was much cleaner than the alternative, as I'm sure you will agree."

He just growled, although his anger faded and twisted into terror as Haunter menacingly floated towards him. Its wide grin – reminiscent of Petrel's now that Ash saw them side-by-side – showed its sharp fangs and its dangerous tongue.

"None of that now." Petrel chided. Haunter shrank back but continued to bare its long, curved fangs at Ash. "Now, I suppose you just knocked out most of my men…and women, of course." He added. "Can't forget the women. Might make Ariana mad."

Ash slowly nodded, confused by whatever reference he was making. Surprisingly, Petrel frowned. Without the silly grin on his face, it was much easier to see him as a Team Rocket leader.

"You should have just killed them, you know." He said casually, scratching the houndoom's ears as it walked over. "Most of them are useless to begin with and now I have to keep on paying them. You'll be worth the whole damn group soon enough."

He scowled. The anger he felt at Petrel's confidence that he would join Team Rocket managed to push the fear Haunter inspired back. "I'll never join Team Rocket."

"Eh." Petrel shrugged, leaning back on his desk. Ash saw a sneasel jump up beside him from behind the desk. "I heard that my boss managed to procure a pretty powerful psychic. It's amazing what people will do after a psychic messes with their head. With how powerful you are, you'll definitely be seeing it. I give you a week, tops."

Ash's fists clenched and he looked down at his unconscious friends. He thought about trying to send out Torrent, but knew that it would be futile. Torrent was far too weak on land to have a chance against any of the pokemon individually, let alone when all three were working together.

Petrel glanced over at Haunter, his dopey grin returning. "Hey, use hypnosis on the kid. Give him a taste of his own medicine, eh?"

Haunter's grin was so wide that Ash thought it would burst outside the corporeal shadow. It raised its shadowy, clawed hands and began to wave them back and forth. The ghost's eyes began to glow a bright, bloody crimson.

Ash felt his eyes begin to droop as Haunter continued to wave its hands. The psychic power it exerted slowly shut down his mind, showing its inexperience with the move. A master of it like Dazed would have dropped him in an instant.

Just as his mind began to grow fuzzy and his vision dimmed, he became aware of a massive burst of heat near him. Suddenly the power of the hypnosis began to fade and his mind began to become more alert. Still, he could barely see anything as he was suddenly pushed out of the way and pulled to safety by a large creature with burning fur, although it wasn't very painful.

He finally regained full awareness as a pair of hands carefully guided him into the hallway he just cleared. Ash's eyes snapped fully open and he struggled to turn back to Petrel's room. All he could see was massive bursts of flame and the familiar blue and pink blasts of psychic energy.

"Wait," he shouted, straining to reach his pokeballs, "my pokemon are still in there! I have to get them."

"Calm down, kid." A stern, feminine voice said reassuringly. "They'll be fine. That Rocket is already beaten. I'm Officer Jenny, and I'm in charge of this force. Are you hurt?"

Ash calmed down a bit now that he knew it was the police, but still wanted to go and personally get his friends. But he supposed that the police would have everything wrapped up soon enough.

He pulled himself free from the Officer and looked at her. She was older than the average Jenny, and looked as though she had seen a lot of things. A massive, panting Arcanine was at her side and stood a foot taller than she did. Ash supposed that the Arcanine had pulled him out of the room. Now that he thought about it, his back did feel kind of wet, probably from the dog's saliva.

Once he reminded himself to wash the jacket at the first opportunity, he answered the Officer.

"I'm fine." He said as calmly as he could, although now the memory of the Haunter's disturbing grin was starting to come to the forefront of his mind. "He was just starting to hypnotize me when you arrived."

She seemed relieved by that, but suddenly grew angry. "What the hell were you doing in here to begin with?" The Officer demanded with a cold tone that reminded Ash far too much of when he got in trouble with his mother. "A Team Rocket hideout isn't a good place for a kid to be."

"I was attacking it." He admitted, aware that it probably sounded implausible to the Officer. Ash couldn't have blamed her either, although the stream of unconscious Rockets and pokemon should prove his claim unless she was completely unreasonable. Which she likely wasn't, since one didn't get to be the head of a team that attacked a Rocket hideout by being blind.

Officer Jenny got a strange glint in her eye that made Ash feel like hiding in a corner. "And why were you doing that instead of leaving it to professionals?"

"I did call you." He said in an attempt to defend himself. "I just wanted to get some of them myself first."

"You got a bit more than some of them." She said drily. "We counted forty-two unconscious Rockets on the way down here. Most didn't even have their pokemon out. Now, aside from the obvious stupidity of you attacking a Rocket stronghold on your own, why didn't you just leave after knocking a few of them out?"

He frowned. "Did you hear about the St. Anne?"

She frowned as well. "Yes. What does that have to – wait." Officer Jenny said, narrowing her eyes. "I thought you looked familiar. You're that kid that survived that damn wreck, aren't you? I get it now." She sighed. "Even if I don't think it was smart."

Ash had to admit that it wasn't the smartest thing that he'd done. He wasn't really thinking, though – he was too busy remembering the horrible things Team Rocket had done and the vengeance that their victims deserved.

A stout officer with a rather impressive beard left Petrel's room and walked up to Officer Jenny. "Captain, we're finished in there. The Rocket leader is unconscious. That nidorino and drowzee have already been teleported to the Center for treatment." He shook his head and sighed. "They'll be fine, but Haunter licks are tricky. If it wasn't taking it easy on them for some reason they probably would have already died."

His blood froze again at the news, although he was overjoyed by the fact that his friends were fine. Still, the thought of them dying was one of the worst things Ash had ever feared. If it weren't for Petrel's mercy – probably so that Ash wouldn't hate him and Team Rocket even more – his best friends would be dead.

He was in a slight daze after the news, but he was aware of Officer Jenny's words.

"Kid, you're coming with us. You have some information that could help us and we need to discuss whatever your award will be." Her lips pursed in annoyance. "What you did was one of the stupidest things I've ever heard of as well as the most unlikely success, but the fact remains that you saved us a lot of trouble and discovered a Team Rocket hideout in a major city."

Ash nodded and allowed himself to be led by Officer Jenny. Her Arcanine guarded both of them as they travelled up through the hideout, flanked by a small group of officers that weren't needed. He kept his head low and wondered what was about to happen. His tired mind idly thought that this seemed like the spot where a story would cut off – a time when everything else had come to a close and only the future awaited.

The rather odd and pointless thought was accompanied by various odd thoughts and fantasies as he was carefully lead to the nearby police station. Officer Jenny made a point of keeping him as out of sight as possible and whispered to him that she didn't want him being seen by anyone. Team Rocket had their ways of finding things out, and she didn't want a ten year old being targeted.

Eventually they reached the police station. It was a bare, practical building that looked more like a fortress than an actual police station. Officer Jenny quickly guided him through it before taking him to a silent, grey room that was empty save for two chairs and a small table.

"I have a few questions I have for you." Officer Jenny said wearily. "I'll make it fast. I'm tired and I have work to do. So sit down."

Ash quickly obeyed her and took a seat. She took the one opposite to his and looked at him.

"Let's get this over with." She sighed.

XX

He was out in two hours. The questioning itself was quick – he was asked for his name, how he had discovered the base, and anything odd he'd seen in the base. After he'd answered the basics, they just asked him what the Executive's name was. Everything else they already knew for sure.

The rest of the time was spent making sure that his identity was obscured. Officer Jenny certainly made it clear that she thought that he was one of the stupidest people she had ever met, but that didn't mean she would even think about letting him be put into any danger.

She had authorized the use of full restores on his pokemon – an expensive service that was one of the few things trainers had to actually pay for at Pokemon Centers – and got all three of them out in just a few minutes. They had already been sent to the station and picked up by him. Ash couldn't wait to let them out and congratulate them on their performance.

Despite the fact that he had his friends back, he would also be staying in Celadon for a few more days. Officer Jenny had to make sure all evidence of his presence was wiped out from all but the most secure documents before letting him go, and there was also whatever reward she would be giving him.

The Officer had already added a small bonus to his trainer card that would give him free access to full restores at any Pokemon Center and a few other minor rewards, but had also mentioned that he would be receiving one of the pokemon that had been rescued from the Rockets. They just had to find one that didn't need rehab and wasn't dangerous.

Ash looked forward to having a new member on his team, although he was nervous about having one that had been subjected to the Rockets' treatment. Still, he wasn't about to refuse it. At least he could give it a better home.

But for now he was just glad that he and his friends were safe and that the Rockets wouldn't be able to hurt anyone else in Celadon. Now he could just get on with his journey and stay far away from the Rockets and their plots.

A smile crossed his face. He would be getting a new member for his team, he had proved to himself that his team really was strong enough to fight, and he had his route planned out.

While waiting to be released from the station, he had decided to head over to Saffron. Ash wasn't sure whether he was anywhere near Sabrina's level yet, but he figured that he should at least try. After all, that was what being a trainer was all about. Finding challenges and pushing your limits until you were the very best.

So he wouldn't be skirting around Saffron anymore. It was time to face a real challenge. Sabrina was waiting for him.


	5. Chapter 5: Saffron

**Here's the next chapter of Traveler. Huzzah. Anyways, something of interest happened while I was writing this – I got my first flamer! Many thanks to OC Hater for wasting both of our time. Anyways, aside from random trolls, thank you for your reviews. **

**This chapter has quite a bit of battling in it, but also details Ash's journey more and shows the pokemon more as well. Anyways, enjoy. **

Ash cheerfully strolled around the Celadon Department Store. It was gigantic – larger than any store he had ever seen and with a selection to match. While it held all of the standard supplies and gear for trainers, it also had luxury goods for particularly wealthy trainers. That wasn't even going in to the massive variety of items for the average citizen.

But he was here for very specific things: TMs. On a previous visit he had used some of his hard-earned money to buy more powerful versions of the standard potions, as well as antidotes. There had been a vast migration of poison-types to the areas around Celadon recently, as several new factories had been opened. Ash didn't want any of his friends that weren't immune to poison being hurt in the battles they were sure to have.

He only returned because of a reflection of his friends' attacks and powers. While all of his pokemon were reasonably powerful – in particular Nidorino, although Ash expected the rest to close the gap somewhat when they evolved – their move pool was vastly limited.

Nidorino primarily relied on horn attack and his vast physical power to win battles. It worked well for him, but Ash wanted to expand his strengths. He currently had few attacks that would be able to attack opponents at a distance or in the air. Confusion was one of his more powerful ranged attacks, but was only good at a distance of a few yards. Even though Nidorino knew the move, his psychic abilities were mediocre.

Ash was working on teaching Nidorino fury attack and horn drill. Fury attack would let him use his horn to great effect. His horn was already his greatest weapon and its hardness and sharpness would enable his fury attack to be far more powerful than the norm. While it was normally considered a minor threat, Nidorino could make it a dangerous attack.

As for horn drill, Ash knew that it was amongst the most powerful moves Nidorino had the potential to learn. Although it required so much of its users focus that it could easily miss, the attack had so much sheer power behind it that it could easily knock an opponent out. Unfortunately, Ash didn't think Nidorino had the experience or power to even begin to learn it yet. Every attempt so far had been a miserable failure, which caused irritation for both of them. He was about to give up on it for now.

Torrent was already limited since he could only battle in water. He was incredibly powerful in it, however. Ash thought that he was probably the most balanced member of his team, as he had learned a wide variety of moves since he had evolved. Part of it was because Ash spent an inordinate amount of time training with him to make up for the lack of opportunities Torrent had been given to battle.

His move pool had expanded a bit since his evolution. Ash had managed to teach his friend the move Twister, which was able to amplify the power of the large whirlpools Torrent could create in water sources. He had also been taught agility, allowing him to amplify his exceptional speed in the water already. It made him too fast for most pokemon to catch or defend against in the water.

Plume had the standard problem associated with most flying-types – she was fragile and could only attack with momentum behind her, or with powerful blasts of wind. She was hopeless in close combat, and if knocked down she was an easy target. Ash had been working to make sure she was too fast to be pulled to the ground, but was encountering difficulties. He tried to teach her a move called tailwind, but she just couldn't get it to work correctly.

She was reaching her peak. Ash wasn't sure why she hadn't evolved into a pidgeot yet, considering how many battles she had been involved in, but he knew it was coming soon. Plume resembled a pidgeot as much as a pidgeotto now, but hadn't made the last change that would unlock the rest of her power. He was waiting for it anxiously, since she didn't seem to be able to train effectively anymore.

Dazed had proved to be a valuable member of the team – her hypnosis let him end battles against unwary foes before it could begin, and her ability to inflict great damage against the poison-types so many trainers used was a boon. But she was also slow and lazy. If an opponent got close to her, she was almost helpless. She needed focus to use her power, and it was difficult for her to focus when she was being pummeled. Unfortunately, that wasn't something he could train her in. It was a rare occurrence anyways, so he didn't count it as too bad a problem.

But he had managed to teach her a few new moves. She seemed to have a basic understanding of many of the moves the pokedex said that she could learn, but hadn't mastered any beyond the basic abilities of her species. That let him teach her a move in only a few days, a unique situation he was trying to take full advantage of.

Aside from psybeam, he had managed to teach her future sight and was in the process of teaching her zen headbutt. While he would have preferred spending time on the incredibly powerful psychic, Ash had realized that she needed some way to defend against close enemies. Besides, she already had a head start on both of the moves. Dazed was capable of focusing a bright blue covering of psychic power onto her head, which would amplify the power of the basic head butt several times over, and was working on a reflective shield.

He suspected that she would master it within the next two days. She was making good progress on it, and probably would have mastered it already if he didn't have to split his focus between all of his friends.

But right now he was gearing his friends up for the remainder of their journey. While he wasn't expecting a win against the famously powerful Sabrina, he would at least do his best to give her a good battle. And no matter how powerful his pokemon had become, he knew they couldn't win through pure power. He needed a few tricks up his sleeves.

That was why he was standing in front of a massive array of TMs, proudly displayed in the trainer section of the store. Most were too expensive for the average trainer, but he was willing to blow most of his money on the devices. He had already bought the necessary supplies for his journey and had been given a few thousand dollars the police had recovered from the Rocket hideout. Officer Jenny said that it was a fair enough bonus for stopping their operations in Celadon City.

He glanced over the glass-covered disks. They were all three thousand dollars. Expensive, but by no means as exclusive as some people portrayed them as. It would still be quite a drain on his resources, however. Ash only had enough to buy five without completely emptying his deposit, so he would have to make his selection carefully.

One of the first that he picked was ice beam. He remembered the potent power of the attack when Gary had used it on him, and realized that it would be extremely useful on quite a few types. It would be an easy way to take down any flying-types, grass-types, ground-types, or the extremely rare and powerful dragons. He quickly placed it into the small bag he carried.

Another that caught his eye was blizzard. While he wanted to diversify his team's move pools, he also knew that ice was a rare type that was quite useful for offensive pokemon, considering how many types it was effective against.

It was a bit longer before he picked out his next choice: thunderbolt. Although it lacked the sheer power that the thunder attack possessed, it was much more precise and reliable. Additionally, it still packed a powerful punch. He put it into the bag.

Ash almost took the earthquake and psychic TMs. Both were incredibly powerful and useful moves and would make Nidorino and Dazed much more powerful in many ways. They would make them far more dangerous to the fully evolved forms that could generally survive the attacks they currently had.

He struggled with taking them for a moment before putting them both down. Nidorino still wasn't powerful enough to use the move to its maximum potential and didn't need to worry about using earthquake when he was already training in other areas. It would probably just confuse him for a while, possibly hampering his effectiveness.

Psychic would make Dazed a far more powerful fighter, particularly when she evolved into a hypno – something she was already showing the signs of doing. But since she could learn it without a TM and had already begun practicing the attack, he didn't want to waste the money on it.

Instead he picked out another TM, shadow ball. He would give it to Dazed – she would be able to use it most effectively against Sabrina's psychics and would need it should she ever fight other psychics. It was decently powerful and would harm and cripple psychics. Additionally, it would lower their ability to resist her psychic attacks, at least for a time.

The last was for Plume. She lacked the ability to use the powerful elemental moves that her companions could, but this one was still a useful attack that Ash was sure would be used well by his friend. It was aerial ace – a highly precise attack that would be amplified by Plume's talents.

When he was confident in his selection – he had pondered over many of the disks, and marked a few in the notes section of his PokeNav so that he would remember to get them some other time – he took the TMs to the front desk and bought them.

The clerk was friendly and got him out in just a few minutes and also gave him a TM case that would let him use the TMs more safely. Ash thanked her for the help and left. Officer Jenny said that she had found the best possible pokemon to go with Ash. He couldn't wait – when he had his new friend, he could finally get on with his journey.

Exploring the massive city of Celadon – the largest city in Kanto, even surpassing Saffron – had managed to keep him busy for the last four days, but he was getting bored. He was able to venture into the surrounding areas, but he could never go quite as far as he liked. It would be a relief to escape.

So he practically ran to the police station. He had brought his bag of supplies with him to the Department Store, so he could leave immediately after receiving his new partner.

Officer Jenny was waiting in the lobby for him. Ash's eyes immediately locked onto the small red and white orb that she held. Then he looked at the officer and realized that she looked tired and impatient.

"It's about time you showed up." She scowled. "I was about to leave this with one of the rookies. Where were you?"

"Buying TMs." Ash shrugged, used to Jenny's abrasive personality by now. Unless you were doing something illegal or were part of Team Rocket, she was more bark than bite. He eagerly turned his eyes to the ball. "What's in it?"

Ash wasn't sure what could be in it. He had seen a wide variety of pokemon at the base, although only a few looked to have been in good enough condition to be given to him so quickly.

Jenny glanced down at the pokeball. "A magmar. The records found at the hideout indicate it had arrived just a day before. They didn't have enough time to fill it with those damn drugs. It's just as bad tempered as the rest of its breed, but I think you're strong enough to control it. ."

He grinned as she handed him the ball – magmar was a treacherous and savage pokemon, but he knew how to pacify it. Despite their disagreeable personalities, magmar were just as honorable as most fire-types. Although that honor went out the window during battle, if he could defeat it the magmar would probably respect him enough to take orders and behave reasonably well.

"Thanks. So, what happened to the other pokemon? I remember an eevee in there."

Officer Jenny snorted. "That damn eevee was the most savage thing I've ever encountered. It tried to kill two growlithe and I had to send Arcanine in to knock it out. Nearly bit one of the rookies' fingers off. It's being rehabilitated along with the rest of the pokemon we recovered." She said with a frown. "But I'm not sure how well it will work. We're waiting to see if those drugs wear off – those seem to be the main problem."

He scowled. If Team Rocket had permanently damaged the pokemon's mind, he wasn't sure what would happen to the poor creatures. While the League would do everything it could for them, they could see when something was a lost cause. Ash hoped that the situation didn't come anywhere near that.

But for now he pulled his thoughts away from the depressing situation. He suddenly remembered that he could get on with his journey now and looked at Officer Jenny.

"Thanks for everything."

She gave a rare smile. "No problem, kid. You might not be the smartest trainer I've ever met – attacking a Rocket base alone proves that – but you're a good kid. Try not to get into any trouble."

Ash promised he wouldn't and left the police station. He absorbed as much of the city as he could as he walked to the gates that would let him out into the wild. Celadon really was a beautiful city, although he was slightly embittered towards it due to being cooped up inside of it.

Still, he wouldn't miss it too much. His journey was far more enjoyable than sticking around in a city for who knows how long. Ash also wanted to get his newest partner out and see if he could manage to reach an understanding with it.

As well as things had turned out with Dazed, he didn't want a repeat of the situation. He'd prefer to simply get the magmar to respect him and battle with him willingly without both of them being put into a life-threatening situation.

But for now he needed to focus on his journey. Ash released Plume and Nidorino as soon as he stepped outside of the gates. Dazed preferred to stay in her pokeball unless they were relaxing or she was needed. Since she was unable to move very fast or for long distances, it worked for both of them.

Plume cried out a greeting before taking to the air, scanning for any threats and enjoying the feeling of air beneath her wings. Nidorino grunted and lightly butted his head against Ash's leg, getting an ear scratch in response.

Ash grinned and began to set off. He couldn't wait to get to Saffron.

XX

Aside from a small flock of territorial sparrow that attempted to attack him – they were easily scared away by an angry Plume – he encountered no threats during the first. He managed to travel a good distance, but realized that he had to stop early.

While he had to release the magmar, he also had to give the TMs to his pokemon. On the road he had made the decision as to what pokemon would receive what TM.

Nidorino would receive ice beam – Ash knew that he would need a more focused attack to round him out, since Nidorino mostly focused on overwhelming force. He would also need the precision of ice beam in order to hit flying-types as easily.

Ash wasn't quite sure if this was a wise decision, but he was giving the blizzard to Torrent. It could be used to freeze other water pokemon and the water itself, and could also be used to attack foes that were on the ground. Blizzard would also be a rather unexpected move for a seadra to learn.

But he was also giving it to Torrent for another reason – Ash was hoping that he would build up some sort of resistance to ice in the process of mastering and using the powerful ice-type move. Ash knew that kingdra weren't quite as weak to ice as some other dragon-types, but they still harbored a weakness to it. Any help at all would a boon.

As decided at the store, shadow ball would be given to Dazed. She was clearly the best one to wield it.

Thunderbolt was being given to Nidorino since, according to the pokedex, he was the only one on his team that could use it. It would also prove to be another effective defense against pokemon that could normally evade him by hiding in the water or by flying away.

Aerial ace, of course, would be given to Plume.

He did have a specific problem that required him to walk for another thirty minutes: he couldn't find a pond. Ash would need it in order to let Torrent battle effectively against the magmar should things come to that. Plus, Torrent had been neglected recently. The seadra deserved to be allowed to swim in something larger than the cramped aquariums of the Pokemon Center.

Eventually he got lucky. The pond wasn't as large as he would have liked, but would be sufficient for his needs. Torrent would be given plenty of mobility and would be happy in it.

Ash quickly let out his remaining pokemon. He called out Plume's name, calling his sharp-eared friend back down from wherever she was flying. His friend swooped down quickly and landed on his shoulder. Now that he was more used to such things, it barely fazed him.

Nidorino had gotten a little bit tired two hours ago, so Ash had returned him. Now he growled as he was released before coming to sit by Ash's leg. Ash smiled at him before releasing Torrent into the pond. The seadra made some odd noise that Ash couldn't fully identify, but before Ash could walk over to him Dazed was released.

She glanced at him and snorted, but quickly stared intently at a tree. Ash just smiled and walked over to Torrent, kneeling down and letting his friend lightly – and carefully – nuzzle his hand. He gently patted Torrent's hard scales before standing up and addressing his friends.

"I got a new pokemon from the hideout." He announced. His pokemon listened to him carefully, although they didn't circle around him or give any other indication of that fact aside from twitching ears. Ash thought they looked somewhat interested, however. "It's a magmar: big, strong, and bad-tempered. We're going to fight it if we have to, but first I have to give you all something. They'll give you new attacks."

Ash withdrew each of the disks and carefully removed them from their glass casing. He pulled out both of Nidorino's first, trying to remember how to apply them. The trainer fumbled for a moment with the tiny TM case before inserting both disks into their slots.

He then returned Nidorino and shrunk the pokeball before placing it into a small, spherical slot. Ash pressed a small button on the bottom of the TM case and watched curiously as Nidorino's pokeball slowly began to glow. First it glowed an icy blue, but that light slowly faded until it was replaced by a bright yellow light.

When the pokeball stopped glowing and a small green light briefly flashed, Ash carefully removed Nidorino's pokeball and released his friend.

Nidorino seemed dazed for a moment as he took in his surroundings. Ash waited for him to regain his focus before giving him and order.

"Nidorino, use ice beam on that tree over there." He said, pointing out his target. Nidorino nodded and looked at the small sapling for a moment before opening his fanged mouth. Ash shivered for a moment as intense cold gathered around Nidorino.

A moment later several light, icy blue energy beams erupted from Nidorino's mouth. Out of the three arcs of energy, only one hit the tree. Ash briefly noted that he would have to work on Nidorino's aim, but then he noticed what the attack did to the tree.

The sapling was completely incased in a thick, craggy shell of ice. Large crystals jutted off of it and glittered in what little sunlight remained. Ash just stared at it for a moment before a wide grin.

"Great job, buddy!" He said ecstatically; he couldn't get the glee out of his mind. If just one of those energy beams managed to do that, he couldn't imagine what all three could do. All he had to do was work on his friend's aim. "Now, use thunderbolt on that rock."

Nidorino briefly stared at the gigantic boulder nearly thirty meters away. Ash and the other pokemon watched in interest as Nidorino's body suddenly began to be covered by an aura of bright electricity before a gigantic arc of it flashed off at the stone, leaving Nidorino in his normal state again.

Ash had to cover his eyes before looking at the target. He grinned again. A massive scorch mark covered the rock. So far it looked like his TMs were worth the hefty fee.

Next, he returned Plume. He quickly repeated the process with her pokeball. It was mostly the same, although the pokeball glowed white this time. When the information had been downloaded into Plume's mind, he released her.

"Use aerial ace on the tree." He ordered. Plume nodded and quickly launched herself into the air with her powerful wings. Ash put a hand over his eyes and watched carefully as she suddenly began a dive.

He could barely see her as she launched herself at the second sapling he had chosen. Ash could only see that her dark form was covered in streaks of bright white light. When she was nearing her target, she suddenly disappeared before reappearing right in front of the tree.

The tree snapped in half. A slow grin split Ash's face as he saw the damage Plume could cause – her other attacks were decent, but nothing really outstanding. This would let her do much more damage.

"Good girl." He said. Plume screeched back in return before perching in a tree. Ash turned towards Torrent. "You're up next."

Torrent nodded in response before Ash returned him to his pokeball, quickly repeating the process with the TM case. His ball glowed the same icy blue.

Ash quickly let his friend out again, letting the temporarily stunned Torrent regain himself before asking him to do anything. When Torrent was back to normal, Ash gave his order.

"Use blizzard into the sky." While he wanted to see what it would do to water, Ash figured that it might hurt Torrent. Normally Ash wouldn't be hesitant – Torrent was tough and more than willing to embrace pain if it made him stronger – but he didn't want any of his pokemon being weak for the likely battle against magmar.

Torrent closed his eyes for a moment before aiming his long, tube-like snout into the sky. Ash watched closely as the air around Torrent became frosty for a few moments before gathering into his friend's mouth. An instant later a massive cone of icy wind erupted from his snout, carrying small, hard chunks of ice with it.

Ash looked at the impressive display with glee. While ice beam seemed incredibly powerful to him, blizzard was even more so. It was less focused, but the sheer power the attack possessed more than made up for that unfortunate aspect. Torrent had another powerful weapon at his disposal.

"Great job, Torrent." He said. Torrent proudly puffed his hard, scaled chest out before swimming off. Ash watched him explore the pond for a few moments before turning to Dazed. "You're next, Dazed."

His friend looked at him with her tired eyes before nodding, snorting a little before she was pulled into the pokeball. Ash carefully inserted the shadow ball TM into the case. In just a few moments Dazed had learned the powerful attack.

Ash quickly released his friend again. When she was prepared to attack, he pointed at the same boulder that Nidorino had used thunderbolt on. "Use shadow ball on it."

Dazed's eyes didn't glow in the way he was used to whenever she used her powers. Perhaps it was because it was a ghost-type attack, but her eyes seemed to dull a little, become somewhat more blank. She outstretched her hands and focused her power. A small, black ball with small, odd arcs of blue lightning coursing across its surface formed in her hands. It grew a bit more before Dazed shoved it towards the stone.

He watched in awe as the shadow ball impacted the boulder, exploding upon impact and sending showers of dirt and shards of stone raining throughout the area. He hadn't known that the attack possessed so much raw power.

"Good job." He said with a grin. "Now, everybody get ready. I'm about to release the magmar. Don't attack and try to stay out of its sight unless it attacks."

Ash waited for a moment to allow his pokemon to get ready. He knew that this would be a hard battle if it came to blows, although he dearly hoped the magmar wouldn't try to attack. The trainer hated fighting his own pokemon.

But he also wished that the magmar would be peaceful for a more pragmatic reason – magmar were dangerous. They were vicious fighters and wielded great power. It could use powerful fire attacks, was far quicker than its appearance suggested, and were physically powerfully.

Beyond that, they were prone to changing the battlefield to their favor. They could release massive bursts of flame that would send an entire environment into an inferno, which would then allow them to be perfectly hidden amongst the flames.

So it was with a bit of trepidation that he withdrew the magmar's pokeball off of his belt and enlarged it to full size. He stared at it for a moment before tapping the button that would release the creature.

Ash looked on with awe at the pokemon that emerged. It was tall – not too tall compared to large pokemon such as machamp, but taller than his other pokemon. He suspected it stood at a little above five feet. The magmar looked to be a little taller than the norm and was bulky, just like the rest of its species.

It possessed the standard, mesmerizing flame design upon it, and its arms were covered in red, rigid scales. Black metal shackles clung to its neck and legs, and a row of red spikes ran down its back. A yellow tail that reminded him of a Charmander's proudly raised up into the air. Two small lumps on its forehead burned with two large flames, giving it an intimidating appearance.

Then it attacked. Magmar roared before stamping its foot against the ground. An explosion of flames intermixed with thick smog burst outwards, lashing out towards Ash and setting the area ablaze. The Magmar turned its gaze towards Ash before roaring again.

Ash did the wise thing and ran, narrowly avoiding the searing fire. He still felt as though his face had been scorched off – even if the flames didn't hit him, they still produced horrific heat. The trainer glanced around and quickly found Nidorino.

Nidorino had his horn lowered and was charging towards the enraged Magmar.

"Just try to restrain him!" Ash shouted. Magmar probably still thought it was under Rocket control. He didn't want to hurt his newest partner unless it was absolutely necessary. "Torrent, extinguish the flames!"

Torrent quickly did so, firing massive jets of water into the flames that were slowly spreading. Ash scampered away from the battle, looking for a safer place to command from. He eventually found a spot that was away from the raging battle and was protected by several boulders.

He turned his attention back to the fight. Nidorino was narrowly dodging the streams of flame that Magmar was spitting at him, although Ash could tell that his friend was being pushed to the limit of his endurance. There was no way he could keep this up for long, and attacking wasn't an option.

"Nidorino, back off." Ash shouted, hoping that his friend could hear him over the crackling of the flames. "Let Magmar recover."

Nidorino heeded his command, slowly edging away from the Magmar, who warily glared at him. When Nidorino began to lower his guard, Magmar stood up straighter and released an intense blast of flames out from its body. Ash had to duck his head due to the immense heat.

Magmar seemed more focused now. It began to walk towards Nidorino, every step leaving small, smoldering flames in its wake. Ash shouted at Nidorino to be ready, causing his friend to tense up. He could see that Nidorino was actually nervous – he hadn't fought many fire-types before, and certainly none capable of this amount of destruction. Still, Nidorino would stand his ground no matter what.

Then Magmar let loose a massive stream of flame, all focused on Nidorino. Ash's eyes widened and he quickly shouted for his friend to jump. Nidorino managed to dodge the flame.

"Poison sting!" Ash shouted. While he didn't want to hurt Magmar, the pokemon was far too powerful to simply avoid. It showed no indication of tiring and only seemed to be blasting even more intense flames. He was getting ready to let his other pokemon enter the fray, although he wanted to defeat Magmar "honorably" in a one-on-one battle.

Nidorino quickly adhered to his command, sending several of the small needles into Magmar's hide. The creature growled in annoyance and blasted another stream of flame at Nidorino, which was promptly dodged.

"Ice beam." Ash ordered, more confident now that he knew Magmar would be weakening. While the attack wouldn't do much to the fire-type, Ash figured that the intense cold generated by the beam would weaken Magmar, or at least force it to use more of its power to keep the flames around it hot.

The beam quickly erupted from Nidorino's maw, faster now that he had an idea as to how to use it. Ash grinned when all three of the icy beams impacted Magmar, sending a thick layer of ice into existence where it struck, although Magmar's flames melted them almost instantaneously.

That seemed to do it for Magmar – it no longer simply randomly blasted flames in an attempt to be intimidating or to instantly defeat its foe. Now it roared – a loud, terrifying sound that sent a long stream of flame blasting out of its mouth.

Following that, it began to spew thick, oily smoke from its mouth. It completely obscured the area from Ash's view, and he worriedly looked for his other friends in case something went wrong. He put a hand on Magmar's pokeball, willing to recall it if it proved too dangerous.

Then a massive blast of flame erupted from within the smoke, burning it all away. Ash's eyes widened in fear when he saw that Magmar was fighting Nidorino personally. It still used its blasts of flame – they cooked the area around it, although as a pokemon Nidorino was barely troubled by the secondary effects – but used just as much of its seemingly limitless energy encasing its fists in flame and brutally punching at Nidorino.

Nidorino was holding his own. Although he had patches of his tough hide that had clearly been hit by the powerful attacks – they were blackened, although it was mostly soot – Nidorino continued to fight valiantly. For every blow or blast of flame he took, he jabbed Magmar's similarly tough hide with his sharp horn.

Ash could tell that both were giving it their all. Although they mostly seemed evenly matched, Ash could tell that Magmar would ultimately be the victor. Despite the drain's on its strength – the poison was beginning to cause it pain and slow its movements and the ice beam seemed to have temporarily weakened its flames – it was still fighting as hard as it was in the beginning.

His friend, on the other hand, was tired. Nidorino was burned and beaten from the constant attacks, and the minor wounds that he had given to Magmar were barely hindering it. He decided that he would give Nidorino one last order before recalling him from the dangerous, brutal battle.

"Thunderbolt!" He shouted. Nidorino quickly followed his command and unleashed the massive blast of electricity. It struck Magmar quickly, sending thousands of volts through its tough body and dropping it to the ground for a moment. Even if it wasn't as powerful as thunder, thunderbolt still caused intense pain for a few moments.

"Confusion." Ash ordered, trying to press his advantage as much as he could. Nidorino didn't have much left in him, so the trainer was attempting to use everything that was left to its maximum potential.

Nidorino struggled to use the attack – his psychic powers were weak at best and could prove difficult to use when he was hurt – but ultimately pulled it off before Magmar could recover and begin its relentless assault.

While true master's of psychic attacks – Dazed, for instance – could use confusion to control an opponent's mind or cause great damage, Nidorino was limited in ways that they weren't. For him, the attack functioned more as telekinesis.

Magmar was slowly raised up eight feet above the air before being slammed heavily into the ground. Ash winced but continued watching. He panicked when Magmar slowly pulled itself up, its eyes suddenly ablaze with fury. Still, the durable pokemon had obviously been hurt by the two attacks – it was moving more sluggishly and the flames were flickering and slowly dying.

"Horn attack." He ordered calmly, realizing that Nidorino could pull this off. Magmar only looked to need a single powerful attack to defeat it.

Nidorino tiredly grunted in response and lowered his head before charging. Magmar prepared itself and caused flames to burst up around it before meeting the charge head on. The flames seemed to explode in fury when the two pokemon impacted, obscuring the result from Ash's eyes.

He worriedly waited for the flames – which had been mixed with a healthy bit of smoke and smog – to clear. Plume helpfully launched out of her tree and blew it away with a few beats of her powerful wings. Ash thanked her before warily looking at the result.

Both of the fierce pokemon were unconscious. Magmar's large body had been thrown back a little, and its large fist – now surrounded with thin wisps of smoke instead of flame – was laid on Nidorino's head. Nidorino's entire body was covered with the soot from Magmar's angry blazes, but didn't look to be seriously injured.

Ash quickly recalled Nidorino before releasing his friend right next to him. He hurriedly dug in his pack for a revive. When he found the small, diamond-like container he snapped it in half over Nidorino's mouth after gently opening it.

Nidorino leapt up and jabbed his horn at Ash's face when he first awoke, still confused and under the impression that he was fighting. Ash snapped his head back before the sharp horn could hit him and reminded himself to be more careful when waking up his friends.

His friend quickly realized what was going on and grunted in apology before butting his head against Ash's leg. Ash scratched his ears and withdrew his pokedex. He aimed the small device at Magmar and let it scan the creature.

_Magmar_. It began. _The Spitfire Pokemon. Its body always burns with an orange glow that allows it to hide. It is known as a tireless pokemon prone to unprovoked violence and wily treachery. _

_This Magmar knows the moves: Smog, ember, smokescreen, fire spin, clear smog, flame burst, fire punch, lava plume, and flamethrower. Its ability is flame body, which may cause burns on contact. _

Ash reminded himself to wear resistant gloves if he ever had to touch Magmar. He glanced at Magmar to make sure it was still unconscious before examining the area, hoping that the battle hadn't done too much damage.

His hopes were dashed. The entire clearing was wrecked. What had once been grass was now a barren area covered with a thin layer of ash. Trees had been burnt by the powerful flames, although some had escaped the destruction. Most were blackened and gnarled now, with only a few cinders still burning thanks to Torrent's valiant efforts to end the inferno.

At least it would recover soon enough. Pokemon would clear the damage up and use whatever they could from the aftermath. Vegetation would grow back quickly or repair what damage it could – trees and plants had to be tough to survive the devastation a single pokemon could wreak.

The trainer flipped open his pokedex to examine more information on the Magmar. While he had read quite a bit on the species during his trek, he wanted to know more about this specific specimen.

Magmar was male – unsurprising due to the incredibly high amount of males amongst the breed – and weighed a hundred and ten pounds. It was surprisingly light for its bulk and height. The creature was around the same height he'd guessed – five feet and four inches.

Ash took another revive out of his pocket. He'd stocked up on them in Celadon since they were pretty cheap in the city. Using two wasn't a real drain on his supply.

He hesitantly approached Magmar's body and knelt beside it, taking care to avoid the small trickles of flame still in the area. The heat he produced even when unconscious was incredible – it was making Ash sweat just from being around him, although that could be from the powerful fire-attacks he had used previously.

Luckily for him Magmar's mouth was open, saving him the trouble of finding a stick or something else that would let him open it up. With a hint of trepidation he snapped the revive and let the powder fall into Magmar's mouth.

Ash stood up and backed away a little, although he made sure that Magmar would be able to see him. He wanted to actually speak to Magmar and try to reason with it – battling it should have earned its respect, so he would hopefully not have to have another repeat of last time.

Magmar's eyes snapped open and the powerful pokemon quickly pushed itself back up, keeping wary eyes glancing around the clearing. They normally focused on Ash, however.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Ash said soothingly. Magmar snorted in disbelief, small bursts of smoke erupting from his nostrils. "Really." He said to try and convince his new partner. "I'm not part of Team Rocket."

The pokemon eyed him carefully, small flames erupting around his feet. Ash ignored them.

"I promise that I'm not." He said calmly. "I actually broke into their hideout and beat most of them. The police managed to free you after I called them."

He could tell that Magmar was still unsure – the large creature still stared at him with disbelief, although it didn't seem to consider him dangerous.

"Look," he sighed, "I don't know how to prove to you that I'm not dangerous. All I can promise you is that you're part of my team now and that I'll do my best to make you stronger. Maybe you'll believe me eventually."

Magmar perked up when heard the mention of becoming stronger. Ash grinned when he saw that, like most pokemon, that was one of the things Magmar cared most about.

"In fact, I bet that you'll be able to beat almost anything we come across if you if you train with me." Ash smiled. Magmar narrowed his eyes at Ash before nodding. He grinned widely, glad that he wouldn't have to go through so much trouble this time.

"So, do you want a nickname?" He asked. "Most of my friends do."

Magmar growled when Ash mentioned them being friends and shook his head. Ash accepted it without comment – maybe Magmar would be more accepting of a nickname when he had travelled with them longer. Or else he might just not want a nickname – either way was fine, really.

"We're going to start in the morning. Do you want to go back into your pokeball to sleep?"

The large creature flared up in response, causing small flames to burst out from its body. Ash assumed that meant that he didn't.

He just shrugged and searched for a spot untouched by the flames. When he did he rolled out his sleeping bag. Nidorino walked over to him slowly, obviously still sore and weakened from his fierce battle. Ash smiled comfortingly at him and retrieved another potion from his pack, which he had been carrying with him.

Nidorino was back to normal in no time, although he would need the entire night to fully heal. Ash quickly spotted all of his pokemon, making sure that they were all ready for anything. While Magmar had agreed to travel and train with him, Ash wasn't inclined to immediately trust him. The warning of the pokedex rang all too clearly in his mind.

Magmar was curled up in the midst of the ash, his tail flame near his head. He didn't seem all to inclined to try to attack or escape, but Ash wasn't about to be careless when dealing with such a powerful pokemon.

Plume was up in a tree, nearly invisible to most. Ash could only see her because he knew what to look for – her body had a distinct shape that was able to be identified. He could see that she was keeping a careful eye on Magmar.

Ash couldn't see where Torrent was but knew he was probably at the very bottom of the pond. It wasn't like Torrent would be able to go anywhere else very easily.

Dazed was lurking in the woods. He had seen a glimpse of her glowing purple eyes earlier, showing that she was using some sort of ability. Ash was counting on her to keep an eye on Magmar. Although Plume had sharper senses, Dazed had the advantage of not needing to sleep. In addition, she could stealthily knock Magmar out without resorting to the brutal battle Nidorino had endured.

He was content with his precautions and quickly got into his sleeping bag. It was still somewhat early, but the stress of dealing with Magmar had left him tired. Besides, he wanted to get up early. There was a lot of ground to cover.

Ash fell asleep quickly, barely noticing as Nidorino laid next to him with wary ears and a preparation to fight.

XX

A light kick in the ribs woke Ash up. He knew it wasn't a human – the foot was too wide and blunt and he could feel dull claws – and quickly sat up with bleary eyes. Ash's exhaustion was wiped away by a surge of adrenaline when he felt a surge of heat and saw flames blasting out from a single, angry source – Magmar.

Nidorino growled at him. Ash nodded. "I see. Are the others fighting?"

His friend nodded before tensing up. Ash looked at him curiously for a moment before he felt another severe blast of heat. The trainer snapped his head towards the source and quickly dodged out of the way – Magmar had sent a massive stream of flame straight towards him and Nidorino.

"Ice beam!" Ash ordered, keeping his head as best he could. He remembered the pokedex entry on Magmar saying that they were slowed down by the cold. If he could slow down the powerful pokemon even a bit it would help minimize the damage Magmar could do.

"Torrent!" He shouted, hoping that it would reach his friend's ears. Torrent was probably still sleeping – sounds were dulled through the water and he would already be fighting if he knew what Magmar was doing.

Ash yelped as Magmar spit another stream of flame at him. He dodged the flames and returned to his position between the rocks. He felt Magmar's flames continue to burn around him until his pokemon apparently drew his attention away.

He looked out onto the battle scene, which looked like something from an epic tale. The flames produced by the angry Magmar made all of his pokemon appear black, their individual features unable to be discerned aside from their shape. Flames bathed the background, providing a dangerous feel.

And Magmar itself was fighting off Nidorino and Dazed at once, roaring and blasting flames to keep them at bay. Nidorino had clearly landed a few blows, but nothing that would put Magmar out of action. Dazed looked to be trying to use hypnosis, but her attempts to utilize the pink energy was being thwarted by blasts of flame from Magmar.

Ash hoped that Torrent would show up soon. Nidorino wasn't able to beat Magmar by himself without a bit of luck, and the battle was too intense for Ash to try to help his friends by giving them orders. It was up to them.

He shouted for Torrent again when he realized that his friend hadn't surfaced. Ash smiled when he saw Torrent burst out of the water to get an idea of what was going on.

That's when Torrent realized that they were all in danger. It was also when Torrent finally got a chance to show off his newfound power.

First, Torrent shot a high-powered jet of water from his snout, slamming into Magmar and attracting the beast's attention. Ash could tell that the water gun was nothing but a weapon to test Magmar's power.

Apparently Magmar passed, because Torrent promptly used twister, blasting a huge amount of water into the air and dousing Magmar. Ash saw that it weakened Magmar, although it didn't manage to knock him out. He was actually impressed with the technique – Ash hadn't thought of any use for twister beyond creating whirlpools or pulling flying-types out of the air.

Torrent then fired another water gun, this one much more powerful. Magmar was visibly staggered by the attack, causing his flames to die down and giving Nidorino the opportunity to painfully jab Magmar's tough hide with his horn.

The pain snapped Magmar back into awareness and caused him to roar in anger. Despite being weakened, Magmar roared and smacked Nidorino away with a flaming fist. Nidorino was hurled back a few feet and Magmar menacingly advanced. His flames were no longer as intense, but they produced a huge amount of smoke due to the water covering him.

That gave Ash's mind – panicked over the danger Nidorino in and the brutality Magmar was displaying to his friends – an idea.

"Torrent, twister!"

His friend quickly followed his command, sending another gigantic blast of water towards Magmar, dousing the powerful pokemon and temporarily stunning it. Its power to resist the water was slowly fading with the repeated attacks.

"Thunder!" Ash shouted. Nidorino's ears twitched and he quickly released the massive blast of electricity at Magmar.

Magmar was instantly knocked out as the thunderbolt – which had proven to be powerful enough to stun him before – struck him, amplified by the water he was covered in. While he might have remained standing had he not been a fire-type, the weakening effects of the water upon his power rendered him unable to resist the powerful combination.

Ash returned Magmar, unwilling to let it play anymore tricks. He staggered into the clearing now that it was safe, going to his pack – which had miraculously remained safe from the fire – and removing several super potions and a single revive.

As he walked over to his wounded friend, he looked over in Torrent's direction. "Great job, Torrent. Could you put out the rest of these fires?"

A cry that he took as an affirmative was his answer. Ash nodded his thanks and knelt down next to Nidorino, who had fallen to the ash-covered ground. Dazed slowly stumbled over, clearly exhausted from the battle.

"Good job, Dazed. Are you alright?" He asked while looking at Nidorino's wounds. It was clear that Magmar had held nothing back in his brutal assault. After seeing what the flames had done to Nidorino – they had actually burned him, not just caused him minor damage that would be healed with a good night's rest – he was thankful that he had avoided them. The fire probably would have killed him.

Dazed tiredly nodded. Ash gave a sigh of relief and pulled out the super potion bottle. Nidorino kept his pain hidden as Ash sprayed the healing liquid onto his burnt, injured hide. The outer damage immediately healed, although Ash knew that Nidorino wouldn't be doing any battling for a while. He didn't want his friend to accidently be hurt due to an internal injury.

He would have to send him to the Pokemon Center once they arrived in Saffron. Ash figured that the time he was battling Sabrina would be the best time to do so – Nidorino wouldn't be able to do much thanks to his typing and could use the time to relax.

When Nidorino was healed up, he returned his friend. Leaving him out would just cause Nidorino pain. Ash looked to Dazed.

"How did this start?" He asked angrily, allowing some of the emotion he felt at Nidorino's injury to slip into his voice. "Did Magmar try to escape, or did he actively try to attack?"

Dazed shook her head at the first option and nodded at the second. Ash growled in anger. Magmar was proving to be more than willing to follow the pokedex's description of it. He wouldn't get rid of him yet, but he would do his best to put fear into Magmar if it would keep the powerful beast from trying to harm his friends.

Ash sighed, letting some of the anger fade away. There was nothing to do yet. He could deal with Magmar in the morning – by then Magmar would be conscious, but far too weak to actually do anything. Dazed and Torrent would be more than sufficient for fighting him in such a state if he still resisted.

"I'm going to sleep." He told Dazed, causing her to perk up in interest. "You can eat my dreams, if you're hungry. You probably haven't eaten in a while."

Dazed blinked. She then snorted, causing her trunk-like nose to flutter a bit. Ash hadn't seen her do that many times before, so he couldn't really determine what it meant. It was difficult to discern his friend's emotions at the best of times – she was usually completely neutral about most things, never letting her expression change.

So he didn't have a hope to figure out what that meant. It would take him a lot longer to understand, but hopefully it was something good. Ash shrugged and wished Dazed a good night before walking over to where Torrent was.

Ash knelt down by the pond, which was somewhat shallower thanks to Torrent's manipulation of twister. Torrent looked up at him as he approached and snorted.

"Hey, buddy." Ash said. "You did great. There was no way we could have stopped Magmar without you."

Torrent preened a bit and puffed his chest out in pride. Ash smiled.

"You can go back to sleep now." Ash continued. "We all need to be rested before we face Magmar again. We'll be releasing him in the morning."

The seadra looked rather happy about that – his eyes widened in glee and his chest puffed up even more. Ash knew it was characteristic for his friend. Torrent liked nothing more than fighting powerful opponents – while he enjoyed winning, he enjoyed fighting even more so. It was unfortunate that he didn't get to exercise that love very much.

Torrent looked at Ash for another brief moment before retreating to the bottom of the pond. Ash lingered at the shore for a bit longer before returning to his sleeping bag. It, like his pack, had remained unscathed throughout the battle.

Of course, considering how durable it was built to be Ash wouldn't have been surprised if it had taken the entire flamethrower. They had to be built tough and resistant to many different substances.

Ash quickly wiped as much soot and ash off as he could before slipping back into the sleeping bag. The bag would be easy to clean, but it would be horribly uncomfortable in the morning.

He slept without dreams that night.

XX

When he woke up in the morning, he was greeted to the full devastation that had been wrought. The fire had been put out by Plume and Torrent, but it had destroyed the clearing to a degree that even he hadn't anticipated. It was little more than ash at this point.

Dazed emerged from the woods as he awoke, apparently having waited for him. He let out a loud whistle to attract Plume. She was probably out hunting for any sort of food – she liked the treats and food he provided much less than his other friends – but would quickly heed his call.

Torrent was roused by a loud shout. He was clearly pumped for battle – he was jumping in and out of the water quickly, firing water guns and practicing his techniques. Ash just grinned at the energy his friend displayed.

Soon enough, Plume dived down from the sky. She got rid of most of her speed and managed to land comfortably on Ash's shoulder, although her great mass and the speed she retained nearly bowled him over. Ash managed to keep himself upright, although he staggered a bit.

He clenched Magmar's pokeball, almost putting it back on his belt. Eventually he overcame his nervousness and tapped the button, releasing the pokemon that had nearly killed him.

Magmar was conscious. He glared at Ash in annoyance, but made no move. It was clear that he was still too waek to battle. All he could do was glare and growl.

Ash had no time for this. Magmar had hurt Nidorino and had tried to hurt his other friends.

He stepped forward until he was only a foot or so from the violent pokemon. Plume was silent and met Magmar's glare with her own predatory one. Ash ignored the waves of heat that radiated from Magmar, his own anger more than matching it.

"Listen here." He snarled, ignoring the part of his brain that screamed at him to get away from Magmar. "You went too far. I forgave you the first time – you were angry and afraid. But you tried to kill my friends. Nidorino is hurt."

Magmar snorted in amusement with that. Ash scowled.

"You seem awfully cocky for something that got beaten so badly that you can't even attack me." Ash growled, daring Magmar to attack. "Now listen. I am your trainer. I have beaten you twice. You will listen to me."

The pokemon glanced away.

"I think I've proved that you aren't too strong for me to handle." Ash said, calmer this time. "And also that I'm not going to hurt you. If I wanted to hurt you I could have thrown your pokeball into the grass or dug a hole and left you in it."

Magmar looked uncomfortable at that suggestion, and some smoke erupted from its body. Ash continued, hoping that he could avert any more danger.

"If I have to I will repeat this every day. You attack, I beat you. I'm not going to let you hurt my pokemon, but I won't give up on you either. Or else you can just stop being disagreeable and join me. I'll make you stronger than you could ever be on your own."

His foe bowed his head before slowly nodding. Ash thought that it was genuine this time – Magmar had to realize that he couldn't keep on fighting. Not when Ash and his friends had proven to be inventive and powerful enough to get around his overwhelming power.

Magmar walked away before motioning at his pokeball, which was still in Ash's hand. Ash glanced at it.

"Do you want back in?"

A nod. Ash shrugged. "I'll give you a super potion later, I guess. By the way, if you're just going to try and attack us again, I suggest you don't. I won't be so lenient with you again."

Another nod. Ash returned Magmar and walked back to his sleeping bag. He quickly rolled it up and forced it into his pack. When everything was ready he returned Dazed and Torrent and set off on the road.

It was time to move on.

XX

He didn't challenge as many trainers as he usually did. For one, his pokemon were all tired from the battles with Magmar. In addition, he didn't feel as though he needed to tire them out even more by putting them into so many battles.

Plume did get a few in. She hadn't been capable of attacking Magmar – the flames were too fierce for her to get in close – so she was still ready for battle. He didn't get to use her as much recently, so it was nice testing her out.

She proved to be more than capable of defeating most opponents, although anything too experienced or powerful easily defeated her. Ash noticed that she had far more difficulty in combat than his other friends, although she excelled at other areas. He figured that she would fix that after she evolved.

Still, nothing of interest happened until he had been walking for around two hours. He hadn't encountered anyone on the road for a while, so wasn't surprised when he heard the familiar sounds of a very intense battle between pokemon far in the distance. Ash had been expecting to meet someone for a while now.

Ash continued walking until the sounds were much closer. He could hear more than the familiar roars and screeches now – he could hear the crackling of flames and the painful screech of metal grinding against metal.

He curiously walked off the path a little, wondering if this would be a battle worth using his tired pokemon for. They were still in fighting shape, after all. Only Plume could use her maximum potential, though, so he wasn't quite sure.

The sounds grew louder and louder, and he was able to see intense flashes of light and flame. He could also tell that something huge was moving nearby – he could see something gigantic, bright, and shiny through the trees that hid the battle from him.

Ash carefully pushed his way through the light trees – he suddenly realized he was off the trail. It didn't matter, though. Plume would be able to guide him back easily.

Eventually he reached the edge of the clearing where the massive battle was taking place. He couldn't see anything through the suddenly thick vegetation and pushed his way through it. Before he could see anything, however, something massive slammed into him from behind. Ash was thrown forward and couldn't even cry out before a hot, heavy paw was carefully placed on his back.

He didn't dare to move as an oddly hot nose carefully sniffed him. Ash was completely frozen, too busy wondering what had just attacked him to be worried about trying to escape.

From the size and heat of its body, he assumed it was an Arcanine. He had developed a great appreciation for the breed during his stay in Celadon. Officer Jenny's was a prime example of the breed and had guarded him for the first day.

But this one wasn't as friendly. Its heavy paw pressed a little harder on his back, making him fear that the weight would bruise him if it didn't end up breaking one of his bones.

Suddenly someone rescued him from the massive dog.

"Let him go." The voice said firmly. He heard Arcanine whine before quickly stepping off of Ash. Ash stayed in place for a moment before pulling himself back up, gladly accepting the proffered hand from his rescuer.

"Sorry about that." The voice said as Ash was pulled up. "There have been a few people following me lately. Arcanine's just a bit paranoid."

Ash nodded his understanding before raising his head. His back was hurting a bit, but he would probably be fine in a few days. It wouldn't even bruise that badly.

He glanced over his rescuer's face. It was almost completely nondescript, not someone that most people would remember. The only distinctive things about the trainer were his dark red hair and warm brown eyes. His eyes burned brightly in some way that Ash couldn't quite describe.

That's when he realized who this was, although the Jolteon that had approached them helped to jog his memory.

"Michael?" He asked incredulously, amazed that he had actually encountered the trainer again. Ash barely remembered him.

Michael stared at him for a moment before grinning. "I remember you! You're Ash, right?"

He nodded. "What are you doing here?"

The trainer frowned. "I'm training for the Indigo Conference. I've already gathered all of my badges, so I'm getting a head start."

Ash blinked. "You already have your badges? It's only been two months since trainers were authorized to receive badges again!"

"What can I say?" Michael shrugged. "It's a lot easier when you've already trekked all over Kanto and have a flying type. I just flew – much faster than walking."

He shrugged in return, not saying anything. Michael took the opportunity to ask his own question.

"So what are you doing?" He asked as he scratched Jolteon's spiky, charged fur. The small arcs of electricity didn't appear to affect him. Before Ash could respond, he recalled all of his pokemon. Ash was somewhat disappointed that he never got a chance to actually see them.

Ash thought for a moment. "I'm heading to Saffron to challenge Sabrina. After that I'm going to Fuschia."

Michael nodded. "Glad to see you're challenging yourself. Most trainers avoid Sabrina like the plague and find one of the minor gym leaders to battle instead."

He wasn't sure what to say, so remained silent. Michael continued. "You've been travelling on the road, right?"

Ash slowly nodded. Michael seemed relieved by this.

"Good. Have you seen two people in white Team Rocket uniforms walking on the path? They've somehow managed to follow me since Viridian City." Michael growled in annoyance. "I'm hoping I managed to shake them off."

Although his fists clenched tightly at the mention of Team Rocket, Ash shook his head. Michael gave a relieved sigh. "That's the best news I've had all day. Anyways, did you come back here for something? I'm afraid I got a little distracted."

"I was just trying to figure out who was battling." Ash said. "I was hoping to see if you would battle me."

Jonathan looked thoughtful for a moment. "How many badges do you have?"

"Four."

"Find me again when you have eight and have trained up a bit more." Jonathan said with a shake of his head. "You don't stand a chance right now, and I don't want to accidently hurt one of your pokemon. Do you –"

He was suddenly distracted by a surprisingly deep growl from Jolteon. Michael quickly turned around and groaned. Ash, despite feeling a bit disappointed at the rejection, curiously followed his gaze.

Two people in white Team Rocket uniforms were standing in some sort of odd pose. A meowth stood between them with its claws raised. Ash assumed that these were the Rockets that had been following Michael.

They kept their pose, completely ignoring the fact that Jolteon was absentmindedly firing powerful arcs of electricity off of its body in annoyance. Michael was tensed up and had a hand on his pokeball.

Ash examined the Rockets carefully. One was clearly a man, although he appeared to be very feminine. His hair looked to be died a light shade of blue and hung in a curtain around his face. He wore the standard Team Rocket uniform, differentiated from the rest only in that his uniform was white.

The other was a woman, although he couldn't make out her features from so far away. What he did notice, however, was the obnoxious, physics-defying, magenta monstrosity that was her hair. It looked to be several feet long and appeared to require copious amounts of hair product to keep in place. He was almost impressed at her ability to keep it that way in the wilderness. She wore the standard female uniform, although it had had the midriff cut out.

He barely paid attention to the meowth. It had kept its pose with the others, apparently not ashamed of its trainers.

The female suddenly began some sort of recitation or speech. "Prepare for trouble!" She cried, thrusting her arms into the air. Ash blinked. Michael groaned in annoyance and reached for his pokeball.

"Now make it double!" The man said flamboyantly, waving his arms around. Ash blinked again. Michael tapped the release button on the pokeball.

"To protect the world –"The female began again, before being interrupted by a massive, thirty-five foot long Steelix bursting out of its pokeball. Steelix instantly zeroed in on the Rockets and didn't seem to need any orders.

It reared its head back and blasted a massive, thick green beam of air from its mouth towards the Rockets, firing the attack so quickly that the Rockets had no chance to avoid the attack. All three were hurled into the thick bunches of trees behind them, apparently knocked out by the blow. Ash had to wince at the sound of the impact – it sounded like they hit with incredible force.

Michael turned to Ash. "You should head to Saffron. I have to fly these idiots to Celadon." He snorted. "Then they can be arrested and I'll be free to train. By the way, a herd of rhydon are moving through the area. Be careful, and good luck with Sabrina."

"Thanks." Ash replied before heading off, a little disturbed by the surreal events. He certainly hadn't anticipated to meet Michael again – he'd actually forgotten about his encounter with the teen, or at least put it out of mind.

Still, he was impressed and a little fearful of how powerful his pokemon appeared to be. He had known that Jolteon was powerful – its highly accurate and powerful hyper beam was proof of that – but hadn't really thought much of his other pokemon. Ash couldn't recall what other pokemon Michael had, but if they were all about as powerful as Steelix he would have to train much more.

Ash shrugged it off and looked for Plume as he stepped onto the road. He was surprised that she hadn't come to try to fight Arcanine off. He supposed that she was hunting or had gotten distracted or something – he could see her form high up in the sky, almost too high to make out.

He looked up at his friend for a moment before continuing down the path, hoping that the rest of the journey to Saffron would be smooth.

XX

Ash encountered the rhydon herd three days later. The rest of his journey had been smooth – Nidorino had healed up nicely and was currently plodding along beside him, although he wouldn't be battling. His other friends had fully recovered and were getting quite a workout. Trainers had become more abundant along the road and he was more than happy to defeat most of them. Three or four proved too strong for him, but they were the exceptions.

But now he was standing completely still, staring at the large group of rhydon that were standing in the large plain dangerously close to the road. There were only ten or twelve, but they were each surrounded by two or three rhyhorn, making the herd seem almost innumerable.

He was paying more attention to the gigantic creature that led them. While it wasn't a rhypherior – they were too far from the mountains, and rhypherior tended to be too territorial to leave their homes – he couldn't say that it was much better.

While all of the rhydon were gigantic – all but the youngest stood at six feet – the rhydon that led them was a monster. It appeared to be one of the giants that occasionally sprung up amongst pokemon. The rhydon stood at what had to have been at least nine feet and looked to be a time and a half again as wide and bulky as the others.

And it was currently staring straight at him. Ash froze and hoped that it wouldn't detect him as a threat, but discreetly got ready to return Nidorino and run away as fast as he could. Rhydon wouldn't intentionally hurt or kill humans, but they were too strong and too ignorant as to how fragile humans were in comparison.

He wasn't that lucky, however. The beast roared and charged at Ash as fast as its legs could carry the massive bulk. Ash quickly followed through with his plan and took off into the nearby forest, hoping that the rhydon would be willing to end the chase there. It would have trouble navigating through the woods.

Ash ran a few feet into the trees before looking back, hoping to see Rhydon standing at the edge or walking away. Instead the creature continued to charge at him, not bothering to go around or dodge the trees. Apparently such a powerful creature could charge through them with little trouble.

The trainer yelped and took off again, only a few feet ahead of the charging monster. He wasn't sure how long his adrenaline pulled him through the run, but eventually his body began to tire and his lungs began to burn.

While he was certainly much faster than the stone behemoth, he was slowed down. For one, he hadto carefully watch his steps lest he trip. He also had to dodge around the numerous obstacles the forest threw at him, while Rhydon simply charged through anything that got in its way.

Just when Ash thought that he would pass out from exhaustion, he tripped over a root and stumbled into a small clearing. He sprawled to the ground and turned to look at his chaser. Rhydon was standing over him, its massive body making him look positively tiny in comparison.

Ash glared at the pokemon before quickly releasing his own. Plume was somewhere above, hopefully getting ready to launch an attack. Magmar – who had behaved himself quite well, although he was still less friendly than the others – erupted from a pokeball and roared at Rhydon, menacingly flaring up.

Rhydon snorted and turned to the smaller fire-type. Magmar didn't back down, however. Instead he puffed himself up and caused the flames around him to flare up even more. Ash took the time to scramble away to a safer area, despite his exhaustion.

Nidorino was quickly released from his pokeball. Ash could always return him from the battle if the brawl grew closer. His friend was perfectly capable of ranged moves, but Ash had deemed him too sensitive for physical combat.

His friend snorted at him and readied himself. Ash nodded down at him.

"Use ice beam. I don't think that Magmar can take this thing down on his own." Ash said calmly, hiding the fear that he felt. He released Dazed, but didn't give her any orders yet.

Nidorino quickly fired his ice beam, using the hours of practice Ash had put him through since he had recovered to use. As the blue energy beams grew close to Rhydon, however, Magmar casually blasted the beams with a plume of flame. Ash looked on curiously as the ice beam was destroyed. He'd have to remember that.

"Let him do this." Ash muttered to the annoyed Nidorino. "If he needs help, we'll help him."

His friend snorted and sat down, clearly not happy to be helping Magmar. Ash just watched the battle.

Rhydon attacked first, casually launching its massive fist towards Magmar. Magmar easily dodged the attack and spit a flamethrower at Rhydon. The powerful attack washed over Rhydon's stone body, annoying it but causing no real damage.

Magmar roared and stamped its foot, causing the grass around it to be set ablaze. It didn't spread, however, so Ash didn't have to worry about putting it out. The flames did little to annoy Rhydon, who simply launched another powerful punch.

His partner dodged the attack again and used an even more powerful blast of flame, which again did little. Magmar blinked and looked confused when Rhydon remained unharmed. Rhydon seemed to grin before launching another punch, this one too fast for the distracted Magmar to dodge.

Ash winced when Magmar was sent sprawling to the ground by the incredible force of the punch. He still didn't order Nidorino to help. Magmar had endured much worse than that. Unless he really needed help, Ash wouldn't give any. His partner needed to realize that he wasn't the most powerful pokemon in the world.

Magmar dodged the stomp Rhydon aimed at him and pulled himself up. Rhydon roared and shot dozens of small rocks from his mouth, slamming into Magmar and hurling him back even more. His partner remained standing, though, and punched Rhydon with a flaming fist.

The force actually knocked the monstrous Rhydon back, although it didn't do any lasting damage. Magmar continued to launch the punches, using his speed to keep Rhydon off balance. For a while, it worked.

Finally, Rhydon had had enough. It squared itself and took the next fire punch easily before roaring and forcing itself at Magmar. Ash sighed when Rhydon displayed the speed that such a gigantic creature shouldn't have. This wouldn't end well for Magmar.

He was right. The massive force carried by the charge sent Magmar flying into a tree, which ignited due to his flames. Magmar fell heavily to the ground but tried to regain its footing. Rhydon didn't give him a chance. It slammed into Magmar again, crushing him into the ignited tree. Ash could see the tree splintering beneath the immense force.

Magmar still fought, however. He continued to spit powerful streams of flame at the stone beast, no matter how little damage it did. Rhydon roared as it picked Magmar up and threw him to the ground. Ash knew it didn't really hurt the highly durable pokemon that badly, but that was where he drew the line.

Even as he was ordering Nidorino to use ice beam, a large blur came from the sky and slammed into Rhydon. The force was barely enough to knock it off balance, but it distracted the giant pokemon from attacking the fallen Magmar.

Ash looked in awe at Plume, who had been knocked onto the ground from the impact. She was completely fine, if a little bit ruffled. The pidgeotto was already righting herself and preparing to launch into the air again.

The annoyed Rhydon had different ideas. It gave a deep rumbling growl as it casually walked over to the bird with its fist raised. Plume barely managed to fly out of the way of the punch, escaping a serious injury by a hair.

She flew off again, leaving the Rhydon with plenty of rage but only three other targets to use it on. Ash's eyes widened and he quickly ordered Nidorino to use ice beam and Dazed to use psybeam. It was for one simple reason: Rhydon was charging at them.

All three took the time to scramble away. Nidorino's ice beam seemed to do the most damage to Rhydon – the massive creature slowed down immensely as ice crystals froze over its body, although it quickly began to knock them off with its powerful movements.

The psybeam stunned it for a moment, but barely attracted its attention. Rhydon appeared to realize that Ash was giving orders, so Ash was the new target. He scrambled out of the way as it charged him, but Rhydon's hard elbow clipped his shoulder as it charged past.

Ash was thrown to the ground by the impact, and he could feel that he would have a bad bruise later. But he didn't think that his shoulder was dislocated or the muscles and tendons injured. It would just hurt terribly for a few days, although he would have to get it checked out in Saffron.

Then a large tornado slammed into the Rhydon with incredible force and even managed to knock it over for a brief moment. Ash looked up at the source of the attack: a gigantic, majestic bird that looked down on the Rhydon with furious eyes.

It looked like Plume had finally evolved. She hadn't changed much since she had already been half-pidgeot, but it was still noticeable. Plume was larger now – fiercer, prouder, and more impressive in every area.

But Ash realized he had to stop her from attacking the annoyed Rhydon. While she was certainly more powerful, Rhydon was far out of her league. Even if it didn't have a type-advantage, so far Rhydon had proven to be mostly invulnerable to most of their attacks. Flames did nothing to it, physical attacks barely knocked it off balance, and even ice beam had done little other than to slow it down.

"Get back up!" He shouted to Plume before she could try to dive at Rhydon. "Use twister again."

Plume screeched in understanding and forced herself back up into the air, quickly flapping her wings and summoning another twister. Rhydon grunted in annoyance as it was knocked over. Ash took the opportunity to run to the other side of the clearing. Dazed and Nidorino followed him.

He glanced over at Magmar before giving orders to his friends. Magmar looked to be nearly unconscious, although he was still trying to futilely stand up in order to fight again. The creature was still watching the battle with darkened eyes.

Ash quickly made a strategy for the stone behemoth. Physical attacks and some elemental attacks did almost nothing to it. Even ice beam had proved to be little more than a hindrance to Rhydon, although Ash suspected that the effects would eventually add up.

"Ice beam. Confusion." He ordered in a calm voice that belied the fear that he felt. Nidorino grunted and quickly fired the ice beam. All three energy blasts hit Rhydon, causing a thick layer of ice to form on the rock.

Rhydon roared again – a sound that resembled stone grinding together – and quickly shattered the ice before charging at the three again. Another twister from Plume knocked it off balance, however, and it grunted in annoyance.

That's when Dazed's confusion hit. It quickly overwhelmed Rhydon's mind, giving Dazed complete control. She quickly caused the behemoth to hit itself with its own fists – blows that caused more real damage than anything save the ice beam, Ash noticed.

Nidorino followed up with another ice beam. It had a greater effect than the first two, although it still didn't seem to badly hurt Rhydon. The thing was like a mountain that could walk.

Soon enough, despite Dazed's attempts, Rhydon regained control of itself. But now it was done playing with them – its eyes were narrowed and it was panting in anger.

It suddenly stamped on the ground, causing a large earthquake. Ash was slammed to the ground as the earth shook, as was Dazed. Small cracks began to thread throughout the ground, but they were less important than the earthquake.

The earthquake was weaker for Ash – he wasn't sure why, but it didn't carry the incredible force it did for his friends. Magmar was almost unconscious and Nidorino had been knocked to his side.

Rhydon completely ignored the twister that Plume sent at him, apparently using its full power now. It lowered its head and showed that its gigantic, sharp horn was glowing. Ash paled as he identified the technique as megahorn.

That it could use such a powerful and advanced technique spoke volumes to the Rhydon's sheer experience and power. It was the ultimate technique that any Rhydon could learn without the assistance of a TM. The attack inflicted an inordinate amount of damage in the hands of an ordinary Rhydon, so Ash couldn't even imagine what it could do in the hands of this thing.

He quickly returned his pokemon and pulled himself up. There was no way his friends would be able to dodge the attack when they were still on the ground. At least he was able to stand up.

Rhydon was too enraged to realize what the attack would do to Ash. It charged at him, not even noticing when he leapt out of the way. The Rhydon plowed through the forest, apparently ignorant to the fact it was only tearing trees to shred, not its target.

Ash released his friends again and told them to spread out. They were just providing easy targets by remaining clumped together. He anxiously waited for Rhydon to emerge – he could see its huge grey form walking back to them, but none of his friends had a clear shot.

He was considering alternative strategies since it was clear that he wouldn't defeat the Rhydon through force unless he got extremely lucky. It was just too strong.

His first was to release Torrent and let the water-type blast Rhydon with water. Normally he wouldn't release Torrent onto land – he was almost incapable of movement and had difficulty fighting – but desperate times called for desperate measures.

His second was to throw one of the ultra balls he had kept and buy them time to escape. Ash doubted that the ultra ball would hold Rhydon for long, though. Ultra balls were much more powerful than ordinary pokeballs, but they still required the target to be weakened first. In addition, they could still be broken by a sufficiently powerful pokemon. Besides, Ash didn't want to risk the chance of accidently capturing the Rhydon.

For one it was clear that Rhydon was still far too strong for him – he was having trouble getting Magmar to respect him, and Rhydon was exponentially more powerful than Magmar. He wouldn't be able to work on Magmar if he was too busy keeping Rhydon from escaping his pokeball and wreaking havoc.

His third was to fight the Rhydon and tire it out. Not a very good plan since it seemed to be as tireless as Magmar, but hopefully it would realize that it needed to return to its herd.

Ash decided to use the first and third options. The second was still unnecessary.

Torrent looked slightly confused when he was released, but his eyes instantly zeroed onto Rhydon as it walked back into the clearing. His small eyes instantly lit up and he jumped up and shot a powerful water gun at the beast.

Rhydon looked surprised when it was struck by the high-powered jet of water. It was even forced back a bit. A powerful ice beam sent by Nidorino that was amplified by freezing the water already there annoyed it even further.

"Hypnosis." Ash said, never taking his eyes off Rhydon. It looked as though it were preparing for something: its body was tensed up as though it were about to unleash an attack. He didn't like the implications of that – if it put its real power into an attack, all of his friends would be knocked unconscious.

It acted before the pink energy could be unleashed, although it was clearly building up quickly. First, Rhydon used an attack Ash recognized as stone edge. Dozens of large, sharp stones were pulled up from the ground and hurled at his pokemon.

Ash sprawled to the ground, narrowly avoiding three of the stone chunks. His pokemon weathered the assault admirably, although they managed to avoid most of them. Dazed had just released the pink energy that would hopefully put Rhydon to sleep.

Even as the pink energy floated towards it, Rhydon used earthquake again. But this wasn't of the same ilk as the weak earthquake from before. Instead of Rhydon simply stamping its foot to create the powerful tremors, it leapt nearly a foot into the air before slamming into the ground with incredible force.

The shockwave threw Ash backwards. He winced when he slammed into a tree – he landed on his sore, bruised back. It nearly made him cry out in pain, but he gritted his teeth and wearily pulled himself up. As he did so, the trainer glanced around to see what happened to his pokemon.

Nidorino was struggling to pull himself up some twenty feet away. He looked as though he were in pain, but could still fight. Torrent wasn't badly affected by the attack – it seemed that he had flopped upward as the worst of the shockwaves had rolled through the earth. Dazed was in a similar situation to he and Nidorino.

He didn't know where Plume was, and also noticed that Magmar was slowly pulling himself up, although the fire-type looked as though he were about to pass out.

But one good thing did occur – Rhydon was asleep. Ash grinned and wiped some of the dirt off of him before giving his order.

"Torrent, water gun followed by twister. Plume, twister. Nidorino, ice beam. Dazed, psybeam."

All of his pokemon quickly moved to follow his order, realizing that this was their chance to defeat the monstrously powerful Rhydon. Rhydon was quickly struck by water gun, which, when followed by twister, knocked it back.

Plume's twister knocked it back another few steps. Nidorino's ice beam managed to do real damage, though. The energy beams quickly froze over the water, creating a massive layer of ice over Rhydon's body. Dazed's psybeam slammed into its head, causing the Rhdyon to cry out through its deep slumber.

But an unexpected attack managed to do more damage. Magmar first blasted its form with a massive cone of flame, melting the ice and causing the water to cause more damage. His newest partner then used his fire punch to slam into Rhydon's back, causing the behemoth to fall over.

Ash stared at Rhydon. It was still asleep, but looked as though it could awaken at any moment. He didn't want it coming after them again, so he ordered everyone to repeat their attacks.

Rhydon woke up right as Nidorino fired his ice beam. The stone creature took the pale energy to the face, causing a thick layer of ice to form over its skull. Ash smiled a bit as Rhydon fell back down, although it grew wider when Magmar slammed his flaming fist into the back of Rhydon's armored head, forcing it to stay down.

Despite the damage it had just taken, however, Rhydon pulled itself up and launched a lazy punch at the weakened Magmar. Ash stared in shock as Magmar crumpled to the ground, and prepared himself for the rest of a brutal, difficult fight.

But instead of charging them or using an attack, Rhydon just glanced at them for a moment before snorting and walking away. Ash blinked confusedly as Rhydon lumbered away, casually smashing through trees as it left to return to its herd.

Ash supposed that it had had enough for one day, although he hoped that it left because it thought it couldn't have won the fight. But after the ridiculous amount of damage it had taken without so much as slowing down, Ash doubted it. More likely it had just gotten bored and tired of fighting him.

Either way, he was happy. His friends couldn't have taken much more of that, and he was just glad to be escaping with everyone mostly unharmed. Ash stared at the lumbering beast's grey back for a moment longer before making a mental note to find it again one day. He wanted to test his strength against it eventually. Such a powerful pokemon was rare.

But for now he just congratulated his team and pulled his pack off. He barely realized that he still had it on. Ash quickly pulled out a few potions before addressing his tired pokemon.

"Good job, everyone." He announced to his friends. They all looked incredibly pleased with themselves and their efforts, if not incredibly exhausted. "We're going to stay here for the night. I don't think anyone wants to keep on travelling right now."

He gave them more personal congratulations as he tended to their wounds. They all gave him some form of affection as he did so, and he had a grin on his face as he stood up from Dazed. She had taken the least amount of damage aside from Torrent, so she was last.

But his grin faded as he looked at Magmar's unconscious form. He was hoping that he would have won Magmar's respect with this battle, or at least showed Magmar that he needed to work with the trainer to become stronger.

While Magmar had gotten better over the past few days, Ash could tell that he still didn't fully respect him. Instead it was more of a truce – Ash let Magmar battle and display his strength and Magmar behaved. He hoped that Magmar would develop a true relationship with him and the rest of the team.

He walked over to the fire-type with a revive and several potions in hand. Magmar had taken a beating from Rhydon and would need the potions to heal. Although he would heal from it naturally within a few days, Ash didn't want his newest party member to be in pain.

Ash ignored the powerful heat Magmar emitted from his body as he knelt beside him. He sprayed most of Magmar's obvious wounds with hyper potion. The potion would heal any internal damage through being circulated by Magmar's blood.

When he was sure Magmar wouldn't be in too much pain, he used a revive. Magmar seemed to groan as he pulled himself up off the ground before glancing around the clearing. Ash assumed that he was searching for the Rhydon.

"It left." Ash informed the fire-type. Magmar's eyes narrowed at this, and he seemed ready to go chasing after Rhydon. He decided to put that out of Magmar's head. "Don't go chasing after it. It's out of our league."

Magmar snorted in annoyance, sending out small puffs of smoke. Ash frowned.

"You know it's true. That thing beat us without even trying." Ash said. He sighed. "But we managed to fight it off together."

His newest partner stared at him.

"Look, you know you couldn't have beaten it alone. You need to become stronger, and I can help you do that." Ash continued. Magmar seemed to be accepting his words though, which was a good sign. "How about you really become part of the team? When we get strong enough, we'll come back and defeat it."

Magmar looked thoughtful for a few moments before nodding. Ash grinned.

"Do you want a nickname now?"

Magmar froze for a few seconds before nodding. Ash's grin grew wider.

"Well, then. Let's get started."

It took less time to find an acceptable name for Magmar than Dazed, but it still took a while. Magmar was still rather picky, and anything that he didn't consider fitting or fearsome was immediately discarded.

Ash tended to lean towards names that related to fire since Magmar liked those most. After using almost every synonym for fire he could think of, he finally came up with a name that seemed fitting.

"Infernus."

They both thought it was fitting. Considering how bad-tempered and powerful Magmar was, Ash was perfectly happy with it. Magmar also seemed fine with his new name – he apparently liked the connotations.

XX

It was three days later when Ash arrived in Saffron City. Ash had decided to focus all of their time on travelling. There were no battles on the road, and any challenges were politely rejected or ignored. He just wanted to get his friends to a Pokemon Center where they could be healed.

Ash had managed to get a bit of training in at night, however. Dazed had managed to learn zen head butt and was working on psychic again. Plume had finally learned tailwind, and he had gotten Nidorino working on ice beam and thunder. Magmar continued to train with his powerful fire attacks.

He was impressed with Saffron. It was slightly smaller than Celadon, but its majestic buildings and wealthy appearance made it seem even more than the urban sprawl of Celadon. Ash had heard that it was even more impressive after dark, when the massive buildings lit up the area around them for miles around.

Most of the people were rather snooty though – they either completely ignored him or looked at him like he was beneath them.

Ash put up with it. He didn't care about the people. He cared about getting his pokemon healed and fighting Sabrina. Still, he sent a few of his own glares back to particularly obnoxious people.

The trainer arrived at the Pokemon Center soon enough. He quickly checked in and showed his trainer's license. Ash hid a smile when Nurse Joy saw that he was authorized to receive free full restores. She looked as though she were almost in shock.

Although he could have gotten all of his pokemon full restores, he only authorized it for Infernus and Nidorino. Both were still hurting several days after their intense battles, so he was somewhat worried about internal damage. It would take much longer for them to heal naturally than it would to simply fire them up with potions.

The rest only got a basic check-up. He was called from his standard room when the procedure was finished. It was quick – he was only waiting for about thirty minutes.

All of his friends aside from Nidorino and Infernus were returned. Nurse Joy said that Nidorino and Infernus had minor internal damage that would take several hours to repair. Ash just shrugged and accepted it.

He took his friends up to his room and released them before taking a shower. It was still about noon, so Ash had plenty of time to do take a shower and explore the city. There was plenty of time to burn and he'd heard about a second gym in Saffron. Even if it wasn't what he was here for, he would at least challenge it and see if they were any good.

If he recalled correctly, the gym was fighting-type. He knew that it wasn't an official gym – cities could only have one – but it would at least serve to test his skills.

It didn't take long to get directions from one of the other trainers in the Center. Apparently it was just a few minutes away, although the trainer hadn't seemed very impressed when she spoke about it. Ash assumed that it would be a pushover.

Nevertheless, he left for the gym. All of his pokemon needed a workout, and he needed something to do while Nidorino and Infernus recovered.

XX

The gym was barely recognizable as a gym. It was old and run down, although the tall, strong men in martial arts uniforms seemed proud of it. Ash stepped forward, attracting the guards' attention. He was somewhat wary of them – this wasn't in the best district of Saffron.

"Do you seek to challenge the master of this dojo?" One of the fighters asked imperiously. Ash stared at him for a moment before nodding. "Very well, but you must first defeat one of our students in order to show if you are worthy. Do you accept?"

He nodded again. The fighter motioned for Ash to follow him and stepped into the gym. Ash followed suit, noting that the inside was less beat up than the outside. Although hardly gym material, it seemed much more respectable than it first appeared.

Ten people were fighting in the center of the room, which resembled a small, square stadium. Ash noted that they instantly removed themselves from it as he entered.

"Jeremy, we have a challenger!" The guard exclaimed. A teen stepped out from the crowd with a determined expression on his face. "Challenger, the rules are simple. This will be a one-on-one battle. If you lose, you may return tomorrow. If you win, you are given the right to challenge the Karate Master."

Ash frowned at the mention of the so-called Karate Master. It seemed an odd title, although it probably fit the man.

He stepped onto one side of the small stadium while Jeremy stood on the opposite side. Jeremy quickly released a large, angry Primeape. Ash stared at it for a second before releasing Plume.

She didn't have much room to maneuver or use her attacks, but she would still be effective. All she had to do in order to use aerial ace was to fly into the air, and she could easily defeat the fighting-type with gust or quick-attack. Her offensive power had been increased quite a bit.

Plume called out her arrival, doing little other than to annoy Primeape. It was tense, clearly waiting for its trainer to give it to the command to attack. Ash was actually impressed – quite a few Primeape had too short a temper and too little discipline to hold back at anything.

"Primeape, use karate chop!" The fighter shouted, causing Primeape to savagely rush at the serene pidgeot.

"Gust." He ordered. Plume lazily nodded and launched herself a bit into the air before using gust. The resulting blast of air hurled Primeape out of the stadium, although it quickly recovered and rushed at Plume again.

"Gust. Quick wing." He said. The combination was another simple one: Plume would use gust to knock the opponent off balance and then use quick attack to gain the necessary momentum for wing attack. It worked well enough and was one of the few that he could use in such cramped quarters.

The charging Primeape was thrown back again, although it seemed to suffer more damage this time. Plume quickly followed with quick wing, causing massive damage as the fighter was thrown into the wall. It wearily got back up, but another quick wing knocked it out for good.

"Good girl." Ash muttered. Plume used quick attack to quickly return to him, puffing her chest out proudly as he congratulated her.

"Very well, challenger." The guard said as Jeremy slunk off into the rest of the pack. "Karate Master Hamm will be out shortly."

Ash waited patiently for the Master to come out. He hoped that he would receive a better fight out of the dojo's leader. The trainer didn't have to wait too long – the Master walked out from a door at the back of the gym about a minute later.

He was old, but still looked strong. His hair was short, but a rather impressive moustache covered his face. Ash nodded at him, receiving a bow in return.

"Hello there, challenger!" The old man said jovially. "Let's get this started. This will be a two-on-two match. Are you ready?" Ash nodded. "Then let's go!"

Ash started out with Dazed this time. She would be his best bet against the fighting-types. Besides, he wanted to test out her zen head butt.

The old man looked at Dazed for a moment. "Go, Makuhita!"

Ash's brow wrinkled in confusion as he tried to remember the name, but his eyes widened as an unfamiliar, bulky pokemon appeared in front of him. It was fat and yellow, although Ash suspected that it possessed much more muscle than it let on.

"Use vital throw!" The Master shouted. Makuhita moved slowly towards Dazed, but Ash managed to intercept it before it could do anything.

"Psybeam, followed by shadow ball."

Dazed's eyes glowed brightly as she tapped into her power. A psybeam quickly erupted into Makuhita, the colorful beam of energy doing great damage and hurling the fighting-type back. It clutched its head from the psychic energy, allowing Dazed to easily use her second move.

The shadow ball slammed into Makuhita's thick body, exploding and throwing it backwards as it did so. Makuhita was instantly knocked out by the impact with the dojo's wall, although Ash was glad to see that all it had was a couple of bruises.

Hamm didn't look surprised. "He is my newest training partner." He called out. "My next pokemon has been fighting with me for years! Hitmonlee, go!"

Ash frowned when the Hitmonlee erupted onto the battlefield. He'd only fought one of these before, and it hadn't ended well. They were fast, used powerful attacks, and had a strong resistance to psychic and elemental attacks.

Nevertheless, he left Dazed in. Plume wasn't much of a choice either, given her reduced mobility in the gym. He just had to hope that this would be weaker than the one he had fought before.

Hitmonlee leapt at Dazed, not needing an order from its trainer. Ash frowned.

"Psybeam. Shadow ball. End it with zen head butt."

Dazed quickly carried out the attacks. Hitmonlee dodged the psybeam through some very impressive acrobatics, and resisted the shadow ball well. It wasn't even thrown back from the blast, although it clearly took some damage.

It was hit by zen head butt, however. The attack still did little to it, although Hitmonlee clutched its head in pain. Ash took advantage of the Hitmonlee's distress and ordered Dazed to use another psybeam.

This time, the psybeam hit. It blasted Hitmonlee away, although the powerful fighter shook the pain off and charged back at Dazed, easily dodging the attacks that Ash ordered.

"Hi-jump kick!" The Master shouted. Hitmonlee leapt into the air and slammed its foot into Dazed's chest, knocking her to the ground. Ash tried to order her to stand up, but another swift kick from Hitmonlee knocked her out.

He frowned and recalled his fallen friend. Plume was sent out an instant later, crying out to announce her arrival.

"Gust, quick wing." He ordered, hoping that the combo would keep Hitmonlee away from Plume. Plume screeched and blasted a powerful gust towards the surprised Hitmonlee, surprising it and blasting it into the wall. She quickly used quick attack and slammed into Hitmonlee with her wing attack.

Hitmonlee was clearly hurt by the attack, but recovered quickly. By that time, however, Plume had already escaped and was awaiting her next order.

"Gust. Aerial ace!" Ash commanded.

Plume flapped her wings again, repeating the process of Hitmonlee getting slammed into the wall. She then used aerial ace, quickly slamming into Hitmonlee. Although the fighting-type attempted to avoid the attack, it was knocked out by the powerful attack.

The Karate Master was in shock. "Hitmonlee?" Ash watched as Hitmonlee was recalled. Surprisingly, however, the Master seemed pleased. "Very impressive, challenger. You have completed our challenge. Unfortunately, we can't give you a badge. But we can give you this."

Ash watched carefully as the Master pulled a black belt from his pocket and offered the crumpled length of cloth to Ash. He carefully took the proffered garment and looked at it.

"This is a black belt." The Master explained. "It is a sign of your strength, and has been worn by many powerful fighting-types over the years. The belt will not provide any real power to a fighting-type, it will show that they are powerful."

"Thank you."

Ash carefully folded it and held it in his hand. The Master smiled at him.

"Return here one day, should you ever wish to challenge or train a fighting-type you obtain. This is the place that will assist you."

He thanked the old man again and left. While the Hitmonlee wasn't particularly disappointing, overall the experience had been a waste of time. Still, it gave Dazed the opportunity to try out zen head butt. Even though it had done little against Hitmonlee, he expected that it would be far more effective against a weaker pokemon.

Ash quickly returned to the Pokemon Center. He couldn't wait to get Nidorino and Infernus back.

XX

They were both fine. Although all of his pokemon were fine to battle, Ash decided to wait two days before heading to Sabrina's gym. He wanted them all to get a good amount of rest before battling the most difficult gym leader yet.

But, two days later, he found himself standing in front of Sabrina's gym. It was an unusual building, but elegant and beautiful. The gym was a mass of elegant, sculpted curves and was an odd shade of silver.

Ash cautiously stepped in. There weren't many people there, although a few mysterious individuals in light, billowing clothing glanced at him for a moment before returning their focus to whatever it was they were doing before. He assumed that they were psychics training with Sabrina.

Suddenly, a tall, imposing woman manifested in front of him. Ash flinched and leapt back before glancing up at the woman. She had narrow, imperious eyes and black hair that was barely tinted green. Her clothing was similar to the other psychics, although her clothes were tighter and red.

"I apologize for startling you." She said politely. "But I sensed that you were here to battle with me. I am Sabrina, the Gym Leader of Saffron City."

"Hi." Ash said, heart still beating from Sabrina teleporting in front of him. "I'm –"

"Ash Ketchum." She replied. "You arrived in the city two days ago, beat the Dojo, and have been a part of many important events over the past few months."

He looked at her uncomfortably, wondering how she knew all of those things. She smiled warmly, which was far different than the stories Ash had heard about her. Most trainers said that she never seemed to have emotion, a trait that most psychics shared.

"I know those things because I am psychic." Sabrina replied in a tone that Ash couldn't understand. He wondered if she had read his mind or had just guessed what he was thinking. "My powers enable me to watch over my city, protecting it from harm. Of course, I have received some information from my fellow gym leaders. Surge had good things to say about you."

Ash gave a half-grin, still somewhat uncomfortable. Although Sabrina certainly wasn't malicious, she was odd. Not in a bad way, but in a way that made him feel off-balance.

"You are here to battle me, yes?" She asked. Ash noticed that her warm red eyes – something he hadn't heard about before – seemed to be analyzing him.

He nodded. She stared at him for a moment before turning around and walking off.

"Follow me." She stated. "I would prefer to end this soon. A threat is in my city."

Ash blinked, but did as she said. He followed her out of the wide, airy atrium into the stadium. It was a dark room, lit only by torches placed evenly throughout it. But it still had more than enough light to battle. Massive pillars appeared to hold the room up, but Ash figured that they were decorative. No one would risk having pillars in a place where pokemon battled.

But the floor was particularly interesting. While the battlefield in itself was average – bare and flat, with only dirt as a covering – the floor seemed to be made out of some beautiful, thick glass or stone. It was almost distracting.

Then he noticed that Sabrina wasn't leading him anymore. She was in the gym leader's box, apparently having teleported there. Ash frowned and stepped into his own box.

"This will be a three-on-three battle." She called out. Ash saw that a pokeball was hovering in the air next to her, held aloft by glowing psychic energy. "The match shall end prematurely should either of us forfeit. Pick your fighter."

Ash held out Infernus' pokeball. He wanted to see just how useful the fire-type was against Sabrina. Infernus certainly had the raw power to at least hold his own. Nidorino was his next choice, since he would still be an effective fighter against Sabrina's psychics. Dazed would be his last choice.

Sabrina sent out her choice first. Ash was surprised to see a large Venemoth. He had thought she would use her Alakazam or Kadabra first. He shrugged it off, though.

Infernus roared when he was sent out, stamping his foot and causing flames to burst out of his body. Ash grinned at the display of power. It meant that Infernus was more than ready to battle.

"Flamethrower!" He said. Infernus had sharp enough ears that he didn't need to shout. The fire-type quickly reared its head back and spit the long tongue of flame out of his mouth, bathing the entire battlefield in fire. Psychic barriers prevented it from escaping the arena and causing real damage.

Venemoth survived the flamethrower and quickly flew at Infernus. Ash was surprised – Sabrina hadn't said anything.

Then he nearly smacked himself in the face. Of course she didn't give a verbal command – Sabrina was a psychic. She could easily communicate with her pokemon mentally.

"Flamethrower!" He repeated. Infernus quickly obeyed and blasted the approaching Venemoth with flames, quickly taking it out of the battle. Ash shouted out his congratulations, causing Infernus' flames to blare up.

Then Sabrina sent out what he had feared: Alakazam. It was a lanky pokemon with thin muscles. Although it appeared physically frail – it was thin and wiry, with little muscle able to be seen on its furry frame – Ash knew that the body wasn't where the mustached creature's power was.

Alakazam stared at Magmar with amusement for a moment. It glanced at Sabrina for a moment, giving Ash the chance to attack.

"Lava plume!"

Magmar roared his understanding and stamped his foot to the ground. An explosion erupted around him, releasing a wave of smog and flames towards Alakazam. Lava erupted from the ground and flew towards Alakazam as well.

Alakazam casually stared at it with glowing blue eyes. A bright blue shell surrounded it, forcing the mixture of fire and smog to flood around it. It deflected the lava just as easily before using its own attack.

The psychic crossed its spoons before being surrounded by a blue aura. Ash shouted at Infernus to dodge, recognizing the signs of psychic. Infernus quickly heeded his order, dodging as an invisible blast erupted from Alakazam's body.

Unfortunately, Infernus wasn't fast enough. The blast managed to clip him, throwing him back nearly twenty feet. All that kept him from being thrown out of the arena was the psychic barriers.

Infernus grunted as he fell to the ground, but pulled himself up. Ash cheered him on and gave him the order to get in close. Alakazam was immensely powerful, but it couldn't take physical hits nearly as well.

His friend charged towards Alakazam, carefully dodging the psychic blasts that the furred creature constantly sent at him. But when he was almost in striking distance, Alakazam unleashed yet another powerful attack.

It crossed its spoons and prepared what Ash recognized as a psybeam. But instead of being a true beam, Alakazam somehow caused it to be more of an explosion – the bright, colorful energy erupted all over the battlefield.

Infernus was impacted by the energy. He remained standing, but it was clear the psybeam had hurt him. The fire-type continued to sluggishly charge at Alakazam and released several flamethrowers in the process.

Alakazam protected against them just as easily as the first one. When Infernus had finally gotten close enough to get in a good attack, Alakazam used psychic again. The blast of telekinetic force slammed into Magmar and hurled him into the psychic barriers again.

His friend didn't get back up. Ash sighed and recalled Magmar. He expected that the rest of this battle would go by quickly.

Nidorino grunted when he was released. He dodged the powerful wave of force sent by Alakazam and waited for Ash to give him orders.

"Ice beam. Follow with thunderbolt. Poison sting when close, follow with focus attack."

The pokemon growled and quickly released an icebeam. Alakazam blocked it with the psychic shell again before sending a powerful psybeam in return. Nidorino dodged it and sent a thunderbolt as he charged towards Alakazam.

Alakazam's shell broke that time, although the thunderbolt failed to hurt it. Nidorino growled and sent a dozen poison needles towards Alakazam. The shell blocked them again.

Ash frowned in annoyance. He wasn't able to do anything to the powerful Alakazam. It just used that shield to block everything that had a chance of actually hurting it. When something got uncomfortably close to it, it just blasted them away with psychic.

Hopefully Nidorino would prove fast and agile enough to avoid that. It would be incredible if he managed to defeat Sabrina's Alakazam, although he doubted that he would even land a hit on it without shadow ball.

Nidorino made it within a few feet of Alakazam before the psychic grew serious. It crossed its spoons and glowed blue before picking up Nidorino with its mind. Ash watched helplessly as Alakazam hurled Nidorino across the battlefield.

He winced as his best friend slammed into the psychic barriers, instantly knocking Nidorino out. Ash recalled him sadly before sending out Dazed. She lazily stared at her opponent with glazed eyes.

"Shadow ball." He ordered as quickly as he could. Ash wanted to negate Sabrina's advantage as best he could.

Dazed quickly fired the shadow ball at Alakazam. Alakazam prepared its barrier, but the ghost-type move shattered it. Most of the shadow ball's power was drained by the destruction of the barrier, however, and didn't seem to affect Alakazam badly.

Alakazam crossed its spoons. A grey, shadowy aura formed around it as a positively gigantic shadow ball formed. Dazed tried to send another shadow ball at it, but her attack was simply absorbed into the larger, more powerful shadow ball.

"Dodge!" Ash cried, hoping that Dazed would be able to avoid the dangerous attack. As he said it, Alakazam pushed its spoons outward and sent the shadow ball blasting towards Dazed.

Ash watched in horror as the attack slammed into Dazed. It was so fast that he barely realized it had move if there wasn't a long trail of shadow following it. Dazed was blasted backwards, slamming hard into the barrier. There were small arcs of black lightning flashing on her.

He blinked and recalled Dazed, shocked at how easily he had been defeated. Although he knew that he had little chance of winning, Ash had at least thought he would have put up a fight. But that Alakazam defeated his friends as easily as it would have a rattata.

It was the first time he had ever been dealt a truly crushing defeat in an ordinary battle. Gary only won because he had powered Wartortle up with TMs. Even most trainers that defeated him suffered a few unconscious pokemon.

Sabrina had only lost Venemoth, which he almost thought was intentional. It was never even a match between them.

He looked at the gym leader, only to realize that she wasn't there. Ash shrugged and sighed before turning around. The trainer yelped in surprise as he realized Sabrina had been standing directly behind him.

She met his eyes with her cool red ones. "You are not yet strong enough to defeat me. You have potential, Ash Ketchum, but you need more time to develop. Return to me when you are ready."

Ash slowly nodded. Sabrina stared at him for a moment before vanishing into thin air, presumably to get ready for whatever trouble she had sensed.

He just stood there for a moment before shrugging. Ash had known that he wasn't ready for this gym. Now he realized just how much he could improve – he knew that he could beat Sabrina. He would if it was the last thing he did.

A few moments later he left the gym. He took one last lingering gaze at the elegant building before heading back to the Pokemon Center. It was a long walk and he wanted to get his friends checked up.

XX

His friends were fine after a day, so Ash quickly left Saffron City. While it was impressive and fun to explore, it didn't exactly help his journey that much. So he was heading to Fuschia now, where he would hopefully be able to quickly defeat Koga and find somewhere to train, or at least train his pokemon to be powerful enough to beat Sabrina.

He wasn't very anxious to return here, to be honest. Ash had heard what the trouble Sabrina had sensed was – the night of the battle, Team Rocket had invaded the Silph Co. headquarters and attempted to steal some sort of top secret project they were working on. Fortunately, Sabrina, some of the gym trainers, and the police managed to fight the Rockets off.

Sabrina hadn't been particularly gentle in dealing with the Rockets. Most had been put in the hospital, although some were simply knocked out. The reports showed that most had been placed into deep comas and that most had minor brain damage.

Ash was actually somewhat frightened when he saw just what Sabrina was capable of when she wasn't holding back. He had taken down a Rocket base, true, but he mostly did it through stealth. Besides, the Rockets he fought were minor players. The ones Sabrina crushed were hardened agents, if the media was to be believed.

He pushed the thoughts out of his mind as he walked out of Saffron's gates, opening up into the wilderness. Ash just wanted to get on with his journey and be in the nice, quiet forests and plains of Kanto.

Unfortunately, a few minutes later a familiar, annoying, and all-too smug voice decided to interrupt his journey.

"Well, Wartortle, look who it is." The source of the voice laughed. "It's Ashy-boy and the weakling. Think we should show them just how much better we are?"

Ash froze and looked up from the path, clenching his fists as he saw the smirking, smug face of Gary Oak.

**Sorry for the cliffhanger, but I didn't want to write another ten page battle scene. That'll be next chapter. Anyways, thanks for reading.**


	6. Chapter 6: Gary and Fuschia

"What's up, loser?" Gary grinned. His arms were crossed and he had a cocky smile on his face. Wartortle stood by his side with a similar pose. "Where are the other losers?"

"We were separated." Ash scowled. He didn't like thinking about the circumstances of their separation. It always made him see rushing water and bright, ethereal light.

Gary smirked. "Guess they got a bit of common sense and dumped you. I know I would have, if I were stupid enough to go with an idiot like you in the first place."

Ash clenched his fists, but didn't respond. He would just sound like an idiot and add more fuel to Gary's fire. Besides, it looked like Gary was exaggerating his personality to try and get a rise out of him.

"Huh." Gary stated, the smirk vanishing. It was replaced by a superior sneer. "Looks like you actually managed to evolve one of your pokemon. Good job. Did it take you this entire time?"

He frowned in annoyance. "I don't have time for this. What do you want?"

Gary uncrossed his arms. "Let's see how much worse you've gotten. How many badges do you have?"

"Four."

His rival snickered. "Six. All from actually beating the gym. How did you get yours? Are you one of those losers that have to clean a gym to get its badge?"

Ash frowned. "No. Are you one of those losers that had to go to the minor gyms so that you can actually win?"

Gary colored in annoyance. Ash thought he might have hit a nerve. "No! You know what, let's battle. I've been needing a good laugh."

The trainer coldly smiled. "This is going to be pretty funny, isn't it?"

His rival sneered, but didn't say anything as he led Ash to a large, circular clearing a little further into the forest. Ash glanced around it, noting anything he could use to his advantage. There was nothing. It was just an average, empty section of the forest.

"How many have you got?" Gary growled. He snickered when Ash answered. "Only five? I had that many in my first week. Whatever, let's get this over with."

Wartortle stepped forward. It had gotten larger and looked to have gained quite a bit of power since they last met. Ash grinned.

"Nidorino, do it."

Nidorino stood across from Wartortle. Both glared at each other for a moment. Wartortle's furry ears were twitching, and Nidorino's barbs had extended, leaking their potent poison.

Ash made the first move. While Wartortle had the advantage in almost every area when he had faced Nidoran, now he faced Nidorino. Nidorino could at the very least match the turtle.

"Horn attack."

Nidorino instantly charged forward, tearing across the short distance between them. Gary called out for Wartortle to dodge, but the creature had only just begun leaping when Nidorino's sharp horn slammed into it, injecting a massive dose of venom into it.

Ash grinned at the shocked expression on Gary's face as Wartortle was thrown backwards by the force of the blow.

"Ice beam!" Gary shouted. "Knock that stupid Nidorino out!"

Wartortle quickly fired a massive ice beam at Nidorino. Nidorino used the agility he had gained since evolving and leapt out of the way. The beam slammed into a tree and completely froze it, covering the trunk in a thick shell of ice and coating the leaves in a fragile layer.

"Aqua pulse!" Gary roared, clearly annoyed. His fists were clenched and his face was turning red. "Then use aqua tail!"

The turtle quickly obeyed. A large ball of water flashed towards Nidorino, but was also dodged. Wartortle then charged towards Nidorino with surprising speed, although it was clearly getting slower and weaker due to the venom injected into it.

"Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted. Nidorino quickly unleashed the bolt of lightning, striking Wartortle directly in the chest. Wartortle looked surprised for a moment before crumpling to the ground. It was returned moments later by Gary.

"That was just luck!" Gary shouted in disbelief. "You won't do so well against this one! Go, Growlithe."

Ash grinned when he saw Growlithe. It was clearly experienced and excited to battle, as the fire-type instantly set into a pose. The Growlithe yipped and jumped before spurting out a few flickers of flame into the air. He let Gary start this round.

"Ember, then use take down." Gary shouted. Ash grinned – Gary was mad and making stupid mistakes. If he was thinking, he would have remembered Nidorino's poison point. Besides, there was no way Growlithe could take Nidorino close up.

Growlithe opened his mouth and shot several balls of fire. Nidorino resolutely took them. They clearly hurt him a bit, but didn't really any real damage. Ash smiled.

"Confusion."

Nidorino glared at Growlithe with glowing eyes. Growlithe yelped as he was pulled up into the air and heavily slammed into the ground. Ash half expected it to be knocked out then and there, but Growlithe proved resilient and stood up on firm legs.

Gary didn't seem too put out with this, though. "Overheat!"

Ash blinked – where had Gary gotten the TM for that? That was one of the very few moves considered powerful enough to limit. And for good reason – overheat was capable of knocking out many pokemon in one hit, even if they generally resisted fire.

"Dodge!" He shouted. Ash didn't want Nidorino getting taken out by a cheap move like that.

Growlithe began to glow a bright red as it accumulated the necessary energy. A few moments later, it opened its mouth and unleashed a bright orange blast of flame. Ash had to turn away from it – the intensity and power of it nearly burned him from twenty feet away.

Nidorino tried to dodge, but Growlithe managed to score a direct hit. Gary smirked, apparently expecting that to be the end of Nidorino. It fell from his face when he realized that Nidorino was still standing – tired and hurt, but ready to battle for at least another minute.

"Focus horn." Ash commanded. Growlithe was too exhausted by the powerful attack to do anything. Apparently Gary hadn't bothered training it with overheat very much. It just didn't have the endurance to fight back.

Nidorino quickly focused his power before charging at Growlithe. The fire-type feebly tried to dodge thanks to its trainer's shouted commands, but Nidorino easily adjusted his course and slammed into it.

Growlithe heavily landed on the ground, clearly knocked out. Ash had to hide a wide grin at the stunned expression on Gary's face.

"Still think it's just luck?" He taunted. Gary sneered but didn't respond in any way aside from returning Growlithe.

A moment later a Kadabra appeared on the field. Ash frowned at it – it made him think of the crushing defeat that he had received at Sabrina's hands – and recalled Nidorino. He would probably be able to knock it out, but he didn't want Nidorino getting hurt or weakened.

Instead he sent out Dazed. Gary scoffed at the smaller pokemon, but Ash just smiled. Dazed had a few surprises ready.

"Psybeam!" Gary shouted. Kadabra quickly shot a psybeam at Dazed, the psychic power bending its spoon. Ash winced as the power caused a minor head ache. He hoped that this would be over with soon.

Ash didn't bother telling Dazed to dodge the psybeam. She was too slow to avoid it at such a close distance and could take the hit easy enough. As he predicted, the psybeam barely even pushed her back.

He suspected that Gary hadn't spent much time training his pokemon aside from Wartortle. Most of them seemed strong enough, but they were undisciplined and wild. They only seemed to trained with the powerful TMs Gary had used on them once and didn't have the endurance to fight for very long.

"Shadow ball."

Dazed was shrouded in a light grey aura for just a moment before she hurled the shadow ball towards Kadabra. Gary's eyes widened and he quickly called out a command.

"Reflect!"

Kadabra closed its eyes and quickly summoned a golden panel of light. Ash fought back a wince at the sudden headache it produced before focusing on the battle. He thought the skill looked similar to the orb that Alakazam had enclosed itself in, but it seemed thinner and more brittle.

Despite the attempt to protect itself, shadow ball slammed through the wall before slamming into Kadabra's chest. Kadabra was slammed onto its back, although its massive, thick tail absorbed some of the force. It wearily pulled itself up before looking at Dazed.

"Psychic!" Gary roared.

"Shadow ball." Ash ordered at the exact same time.

Kadabra was obviously having trouble using the powerful ability. It was clear that it was able to use the attack – it was slowly being enveloped in a bright orange aura – but it was doing it extremely slowly. By the time its eyes began to glow and its spoon began to bend, Dazed had formed her shadow ball and threw it.

The shadow ball knocked Kadabra out. Ash sighed in relief and rubbed his temples when Kadabra was unconscious. That headache was finally going away. He would actually be able to focus now.

Despite the relief he felt, he couldn't hide his smirk when he saw Gary's face. It was red and twisted into a scowl. Apparently Gary wasn't that used to losing. Maybe the power some of his pokemon possessed let them muscle their way past most trainers. Or maybe he just didn't battle as many as he should, or deliberately picked out weaker ones.

Nevertheless, Gary continued their battle. He sent out a gigantic, powerful looking Pidgeot. Ash looked at the impressive pokemon before grinning. It looked like it was time for Plume to get a good fight in.

Plume shrieked out her arrival before taking off into the air. Gary shouted for his Pidgeot to follow.

Ash was thankful for his hat as he looked up at the sky. It managed to block out the worst of the sun and let him see the battle better than Gary could. He suspected that it would be a boon – this might be the only battle he had any real trouble with.

"Twister." He muttered, trusting Plume's keen ears to let her catch the order. She heard, as she quickly launched a small tornado at Gary's Pidgeot. The Pidgeot managed to fly out of the attack's way, although it was clear that it had difficulty. Gary's Pidgeot was made for power, not speed.

"Whirlwind!" Gary yelled, waving his arms as he spoke. Ash frowned when the Pidgeot sent a large gust of wind at Plume, catching her in it and throwing her out of the sky for a few seconds before she recovered. "Now, use wing attack!"

Plume had only just recovered when the massive Pidgeot slammed into her. She was sent flying through the air, but recovered again. Ash frowned and came up with a strategy.

Just like last time, Gary's Pidgeot was just too large and powerful to take on physically. It also seemed quite well-trained and skilled, so it wouldn't be as simple of a fight as the others were. He didn't have surprise on his side anymore – Gary knew that Ash was better than him, and wouldn't be careless.

But he had managed to perfect a move that would magnify his advantage exponentially. If Plume had to win through speed and agility, then that's what she would use.

"Tailwind!" He ordered with a slight grin. Although he hadn't used this in an actual battle yet, the training he had done with Plume ensured that it would be impressive.

Plume quickly kicked up a massive whirlwind around her. Ash honestly didn't understand how it worked, but he knew that Plume could somehow make the powerful winds speed her up while slowing down and buffeting the enemy.

All he knew was that it worked wonderfully. Plume was fast before, but now she was tearing through the air so quickly that Ash could barely track her. And that meant Gary had no hope of doing so.

"Quick wing, followed by aerial ace."

Ash had to wince at how effectively Plume carried out his order. She almost instantaneously slammed into Gary's Pidgeot, slamming it out of the air thanks to the incredible speed she had already gained added with that of the quick attack. The wing attack was almost overkill.

He had to admit that Gary's Pidgeot was impressive. Had it been a fair fight, then it might have defeated Plume. Unfortunately for Gary, he seemed to think that air battles were the same as land ones. While land was mostly static and one could easily win without using abilities to alter it, in the air wind and speed were key, although bulk and power could be just as useful if one knew how to use them.

Pidgeot remained flying, and seemed to have a surprise of its own. It sent a challenging cry to Plume, showing that it wasn't defeated yet.

"Hyper beam!" Gary shouted desperately, apparently realizing that Pidgeot was already half-defeated.

His Pidgeot quickly followed the command, finding Plume and locking on. An instant later it shot a massive blast of energy, swerving it through the air in the hopes of defeating Plume.

Ash shouted for Plume to dodge, but he was too late. Despite her speed, the Pidgeot was lucky and skilled enough to catch her in the beam. She was almost defeated by the blow, but still had a little more in her.

He cheered her on as she completed the last order he gave her: aerial ace. She dove at Pidgeot from her lofty height before suddenly disappearing. A moment later she appeared behind the Pidgeot and used the attack.

Although the aerial ace knocked Pidgeot out, it seemed to drain the last of Plume's energy. She slowly began to descend, struggling to remain in the air. Ash quickly took notice of this and recalled her, thanking Plume as he placed her pokeball back on his belt.

"Good girl." He muttered. Then he turned back to Gary. "Come on, Gary. One more."

"No." Gary sneered. "I'm done here. I don't know how you've been beating me, but you have to be cheating somehow."

Ash had to hide a smirk as Gary stormed out of the clearing with a face red from rage. As his rival turned his back to him and walked back onto the road, Ash couldn't hold back one last quip.

"Smell ya later!" He called to Gary, snickering all the while. It felt good to win.

He quietly left the clearing a few moments later. While beating Gary was fun, he had a journey to attend to. The journey to Fuschia City was a long one – the terrain was rough and could take anywhere from two to three weeks, depending on the weather.

So it was best to get started.

XX

The first week of his journey led him to Vermillion. It was a standard journey – a few wild pokemon attacked or investigated him, and he fought them off. None were any that he wanted, although they provided a fun break from the trained pokemon he usually fought. Both were prevalent on the road from Saffron to Vermillion.

Aside from wanting to get a shower before embarking on a journey that would be at least two weeks, Ash also needed to stock up on supplies. He had just used the massive amount of spare food and essentials to get him by during the journey to Vermillion and needed to restock.

Along with the usual food and necessities, Ash also bought supplies that might be needed for the mountains and harsh conditions. He didn't want to be stuck somewhere and wanted his journey to continue smoothly.

He bought ten new pokeballs as an afterthought. While he didn't plan on catching many pokemon, they would be useful if he needed to outrun something and needed a bit of time. And if he did end up catching any pokemon, the pokeballs would be able to serve their intended purpose.

Ash had thought about going to battle Surge, but opted not to. The areas that he would be traversing over the next few weeks would be draining on his pokemon. Even the regions a day away from Vermillion would be harsher than the norm for Kanto. He didn't want any of his friends being tired out. And he didn't think Surge would be so easy to defeat this time, not after the lucky win Ash had gotten.

In addition to his trainer-based activities, he took the time to call his mother. While the PokeNav worked extremely well, he wasn't sure how well it would be able to work out in the wilderness of southeastern Kanto. He just wanted to let her know his plans and not to worry.

When all of that was over, he went to bed. He was going to have a long day tomorrow.

XX

He left the Pokemon Center early. Ash wanted to stop relatively early at night and see just how far he had gotten. Progress would certainly be slower than usual thanks to the rugged terrain and bad weather that plagued the southeastern reaches of Kanto.

Ash quickly made his way through the bustling city. Even in the early morning, it was full of people laughing and talking as they made their daily commute. He watched them with minor interest as he passed by, wondering how could they live in such a large city.

The trainer shrugged it off as he finally reached the gates. Several trainers passed him by, joking and making odd gestures as they walked in. He glanced at them for a moment before stepping out into the wilderness.

Nidorino and Plume were quickly released. They greeted him affectionately before taking their usual positions. He smiled and set off down the worn dirt trail.

Fuschia City awaited him.

XX

Nothing remarkable happened for the first nine days of his journey. The roads were mostly empty in the areas he travelled in, and most wild pokemon either ignored him or were too busy surviving to bother with a single trainer.

Ash had seen glimpses of the powerful pokemon that roamed the mountains he was currently hiking through: onix, geodude, graveler, and machop were common sights. They always ran away or hid when they became aware of his presence, however, so he never really got to study them.

He resolutely trekked down the rocky path. It was slowly declining in quality as he went further into the mountains. Although there were quite a few small towns and villages in this area, most were too busy with their own lives to maintain the roads. He'd only stopped in one so far, and they'd been quite hostile. Apparently they liked their solitude.

A storm was brewing. Dark clouds had slowly begun to encroach on the mountains, although they hadn't yet begun to release their water. Ash wasn't looking forward to the time when it finally poured down rain.

Aside from the obvious annoyance, it would also cause the narrow paths to become slick and muddy. If they got too dangerous, he would have to slow his pace down or even stop for a while until it became safer.

Even as he thought about the potential dangers of the rain, he felt a raindrop fall onto his nose. Then another. And another. Soon enough a light, steady drizzle was falling from the sky.

Ash sighed. It looked like this wouldn't be a pleasant journey. He supposed that he should find a cave or some other shelter for the night – it was already nearing nightfall. Sleeping in a pleasantly dry place and waking up in the middle of a swamp wasn't the best experience.

Although it took a while, he eventually found a large, dry cave that had more than enough space for him and his friends to comfortably sleep in. It was dark, so he released Infernus. Thanks to Magmar's intense tail flame, there wasn't a great need for wood.

Strangely, however, Infernus was wary as he took in the environment. He quickly whipped his head towards the back of the cave and spit a massive blast of flame into it. Ash leapt back and yelped in surprise.

"What did you see?" Ash asked. He was afraid that they had stumbled into a swarm of zubat or something. That would be more than dangerous enough for Infernus to attack.

Then he got his answer. A shrill, angry cry alerted him to the fact that there was something else in the cave. Something that was much larger than a zubat.

Infernus roared and blasted flame at the source of the cry again. Ash was able to watch this time and saw a large, humanoid shape in the midst of the flames. It was sprinting towards Infernus, taking long leaps and bounds instead of humans' quick, choppy movements.

"Flamethrower." He ordered, settling to the back of the cave. Ash didn't want to get caught in the middle of it.

The fire-type gladly accepted the order, unleashing yet another stream of flame at the humanoid figure. It seemed to hurt whatever it is, but didn't knock it out. Ash began to get worried when it finally came within striking distance of Infernus and launched a brutal, yet graceful, punch into Infernus' chest.

Infernus easily took the blow, but it clearly made him angry. Ash decided to take control of the situation before Infernus lost his temper and burned everything around him.

"Fire punch!"

Ash grinned as Infernus launched his powerful fire punch into the side of the humanoid's head. It sent the creature sprawling onto the ground, although it quickly recovered and kicked Infernus' legs out from under him.

He had a good feeling of what the creature was. From the general shape and fighting style it was using, it seemed to be a machoke. That meant he needed Infernus to use his fire abilities to their maximum potential – machoke were dangerous foes in close combat and could unleash a huge amount of damage.

Infernus might be tireless and practically indestructible – as Ash had learned in the times when he had to battle the powerful pokemon - but he wouldn't be able to beat a machoke at its own game unless he cheated.

"Flamethrower!" He shouted. Infernus growled and quickly followed the command, unleashing the massive stream of flame when the Machoke was preparing to punch it. Machoke – Ash was able to confirm it in the light of the flame, thanks to the hulking body structure and subtly reptilian face – stumbled backwards from the flames before recovering a bit.

"Fire punch."

The Machoke quickly dodged the burning fist and retaliated with another chop to Infernus' stomach. Infernus just snarled and blasted another cone of flame at the fighter. It hit Machoke squarely in the chest and made the fighting-type shield itself from any further flames.

Infernus quickly launched another fire punch, knocking Machoke back into the stone walls of the cave. Ash put a hand on a pokeball and got ready to throw it. He briefly thought of using one of his ultra balls, but figured that a pokeball would be more than sufficient. Machoke weren't powerful enough to necessitate one.

Machoke would be pretty useful to the team, and it was strong enough to stand up to Infernus for more than one hit. At the very least he could train it to match up with the rest of his team. He needed a fighting-type to balance things.

"Flame burst." Ash shouted. The roaring and crackling of the flames was drowning out some of the noise he made, so he had to raise his voice. Infernus quickly followed through with his order, roaring and stamping his foot down. Flames exploded from his mouth and bathed Machoke.

Machoke's muscular form sunk to the ground from its position on the wall, clearly unconscious. Ash grinned. It was nice fighting these pokemon. Unlike that monster of a Rhydon, Machoke was actually capable of being defeated. Machoke was powerful, but not ridiculously so.

"Good job, Infernus." Ash called out before wiping a few beads of sweat from his brow, just now realizing how hot it had gotten. He'd have to remember to not use Infernus so much in enclosed areas. Infernus caused his flames to blaze up in response. "Get ready. I'm about to catch it and revive it."

Ash lightly tossed the pokeball at the unconscious creature. It quickly caught the fighting-type. Machoke had no chance to resist.

He opened his hand up, causing the ball to float up to his hand. Ash glanced at it for a second. Although he could tell that Machoke wouldn't be as rebellious and angry as Infernus had been – it hadn't attacked until Infernus did, for one –, he expected Machoke to put up some sort of a fight.

So he released Dazed and Nidorino. They would both be powerful weapons against Machoke.

They wouldn't have any trouble with a single fighting-type. Ash relentlessly drilled all of his pokemon at night – they weren't battling very much, so he either set them against each other or made them practice for several hours – and they had all mastered their TMs.

Dazed had finally managed to perfect psychic since they set out from Vermillion. He'd had her use it in one of the scarce battles they were forced into, and it was just as powerful as he had expected. Although it was incredibly powerful and she had mastered it, he used her weaker attacks more often. Psychic drained her rather quickly, although he hoped that that weakness would be overcome when she evolved.

Nidorino still couldn't learn drill horn, but he had instead become incredibly proficient at both ranged and close combat. He was more than capable of hitting far away targets somewhat accurately, and had also begun to improve the power behind his TMs.

Of course, Nidorino still favored physical fighting. That was what he was built for. His tough hide, sharp horn, and powerful venom made him Ash's best physical battler. Nidorino could even match Infernus, although it was always close.

So a lone Machoke would be child's play.

Ash smiled at his friends as they materialized and accepted whatever affection they decided to give him. When they were done, he held out the pokeball. Both of the new arrivals understood and prepared to battle if necessary.

Machoke was unconscious when it was released. Ash took the moment to scan it with his pokedex.

_Machoke_. It began. _The Superpower Pokemon. Its muscular body is so powerful, it must wear a power-save belt to be able to regulate its motions. Because it is so dangerous, no one has ever removed the belt._

_This Machoke knows the moves: Focus energy, low kick, karate chop, low sweep, seismic toss, revenge, vital throw, and submission. Its ability is Guts, which causes it to become more powerful when hurt or put under an effect._

Ash figured that it would turn out to be pretty useful. Machoke would definitely be getting up in the thick of things, so it would be useful for it to be able to get an extra bit of power in tough situations.

He checked Machoke's gender after that. Ash didn't like to refer to any of his pokemon as "it" when they actually had a gender. Machoke was a male.

After he had all the information he wanted, Ash took out one of his revives and kneeled by the unconscious pokemon. He carefully snapped the diamond-shaped container over Machoke's mouth, releasing the restoring powder.

When Machoke stirred, Ash stood up and backed away. He didn't want to be too close to Machoke if he was angry. Ash didn't think that he could take a hit from something strong enough to lift boulders with one hand.

Infernus tensed up when Machoke wearily pulled himself up and looked around. Ash glanced at him and motioned for the fire-type to relax. Nidorino would be more than sufficient to protect him and he didn't want Machoke to be intimidated.

Machoke didn't take long to realize that there were several pokemon around him. He quickly tensed up and looked as though he were about to make a run for it. Ash stepped forward, serving to both attract Machoke's attention and to hopefully calm it.

"Don't worry." He said in a soothing tone. "We aren't going to hurt you unless you try to hurt us."

The fighting-type looked at him with narrow eyes. He didn't lose the tension in his body, but didn't look as though he were about to attack or flee. Ash smiled.

"Good. Look, I caught you. You know what that means."

Machoke snorted and nodded. Ash noticed that he slackened and let himself lean back on the cavern wall with crossed arms. He guessed Machoke realized that he couldn't escape or make any real attempt to fight back.

Now that he was sure that Machoke wouldn't cause any trouble, it was time to start making peace with his newest friend. Ash didn't want to go through the same troublesome process he had with Infernus.

"I don't know if you're upset with me right now or not, but if you are, you'll get over it." Ash said confidently. "You're one of my partners now, and I promise that I'll do my best to make you as strong as you can possibly become. As long as you don't cause trouble and do your best, you'll get stronger than you could ever have imagined."

Machoke look interested, but still kept its lazy pose. He just looked at Infernus and nodded with a bored expression. Ash figured he was asking if he would be better than the Magmar. The trainer voiced it, and received a nod in return.

"I can't answer that." He admitted. "I don't know if you'll be as strong as Infernus, but you'll definitely have a better chance than if you just stayed out here and trained in the wilderness. So, are you willing to work with us?"

The fighting-type looked surprisingly thoughtful for a moment before shrugging and nodding. Ash grinned.

"Awesome!" He exclaimed, gleeful that he wouldn't have to worry about Machoke trying to attack him in his sleep. Fighting-types generally tended to be honest and upfront. Machoke probably wouldn't break his promise, although Ash would still be careful. "Do you want a nickname? All of my other friends have one."

Machoke shrugged and nodded again, apparently not caring that much. Ash sat down and started to come up with names. He would throw them out to Machoke whenever he thought of one, although the fighter tended to quickly shake his head.

After a few minutes, the rest of his pokemon got bored with his attempts. Infernus went to the back of the cave and curled up, his bright tail flame leaving just enough light for Ash to be able to see. He was obviously bored.

Dazed just turned to stare at the heavy rain pelting the ground outside, lost in thoughts that Ash couldn't hope to decipher.

Nidorino just curled up next to Ash, still somewhat wary of the Machoke. Ash absentmindedly patted his friend's tough, leathery hide as he brainstormed, so used to being around Nidorino that he didn't need to look in order to avoid the poisonous barbs.

It took nearly thirty minutes to find a name that Machoke found acceptable. Ash had generally focused his nicknames around subjects applicable to fighting-types.

Both of them found Warrior to be dull and unimaginative. Machoke had quickly shaken his head when Ash suggested Champion. Ash almost suggested Brute, but he knew that it didn't describe Machoke at all. Hulk was almost accepted, but Machoke eventually shook his head. Goro just popped into his head from somewhere, but he didn't like it that much. Countless others were passed between them, always rejected after a brief moment of thought.

Ash was starting to grow weary and tired when they finally picked upon a name that Machoke liked: Bruiser. It didn't carry negative connotations like Brute, didn't seem to be a title that Machoke hadn't earned, and it was more original than Warrior.

So, Bruiser it was.

"Alright, Bruiser." Ash said, trying out the new name. "I don't know if you're tired or not, but I am. So, pick somewhere to sleep. I can put you in your pokeball if you'd rather be in it, but I won't make you go in."

Bruiser shook his head. Ash was surprised that he could – his grey, tough neck was so thick with muscle and hard skin that it looked like it couldn't move. He nodded in response to Bruiser's answer and started pulling out his sleeping mat from his pack.

As he did so, he looked at Bruiser, who still hadn't moved. He just stared at Ash curiously, judging him in some way that Ash didn't understand.

"If the storm has let up by morning, that's when we'll leave. We need to get a move on," Ash said, ignoring whatever Bruiser was staring at him about. He didn't want to feel self-conscious. "Get some rest in. Tomorrow's going to be a long day.

Bruiser nodded and looked around for an unoccupied spot. Ash watched him curiously until the fighting-type found an area to his liking and sat down, leaning on the cavern wall and relaxing. It seemed as though he was asleep the moment he closed his eyes.

Ash returned his focus to his own mat. He brushed as much of the dirt and muck from the road and cave as he could before laying down on it. It was a little chilly inside the cave, so he stood up and moved by Infernus. Nidorino loyally followed, curling up when Ash had gotten back into a sleeping position.

The steady crackling of Infernus' tail flame and the pattering of the rain outside put him to sleep quickly.

XX

The next morning, the storm still hadn't abated. Ash had decided to tough it out anyways, but the moment he stepped out of the cave he realized that it was impossible.

Overnight, the storm that was still surging through the mountains had turned the hard, packed trail into a mudslide. His shoes were almost completely engulfed the moment he stepped outside. There was no way that he would make more than a few miles in this weather.

So he sighed and went back into the cave. It looked like he would be stuck here for a while. That mud made it way too dangerous and pointless to even try to go. Coupled with the heavy rain still pelting the ground, he couldn't see any point in soldiering through it.

Ash released his friends once he had dropped his pack to the ground. It was already soaked. He was extremely thankful for Infernus when the fire-type materialized. The cave was already acquiring a noticeable chill, but Infernus' tail flame helped to banish it. A quick burst of flame into the cave heated it enough to be comfortable.

The others looked at him questioningly, confused as to why they were already released.

"Storm's too bad. Can't travel today."

Ash frowned as he answered their wordless question. He had hoped to get out of these empty mountains and make some serious headway on his journey to Fuschia. According to the PokeNav's map, he was only five days from Fuschia. It would probably be more than a week now, thanks to the mud and this delay.

Oh well. He couldn't change the weather. It looked as though he would have to make the best of this miserable situation. His pokemon could still dramatically improve through training, although the cramped quarters of the cavern would inhibit the training somewhat.

He turned to his pokemon with a grin on his face. They wouldn't be getting out of training today, even if it wouldn't be too difficult.

This was going to be fun.

XX

The next morning, he and his friends were ready to go. None of them were drained from the workout, which merely consisted of them using their most powerful moves over and over. They were shot into the rain, so he couldn't see how strong they were. But that wasn't the point – what mattered was that it worked on his friends' endurance. He wanted them to be able to use any of their moves at any time, no matter how tired they were.

He was just glad that the storm had finally broken up. It had stopped raining late last night, so he could at least try to make some progress. The mud would make it a miserable experience, but he would still be moving forward.

Ash left early in the morning. The weather was notoriously volatile in these parts, and he didn't want to get trapped again. That cave was horribly boring – he and his friends ended up trying to sleep the moment training was over just to kill time.

The sun was bright and hot when he went outside, which made him squint. It also made everything even more miserable. Thanks to the heat, the massive amount of water deposited by the rain was starting to evaporate, causing horrible humidity. Ash had been sweating even before he left the safe confines of the cave.

In addition, the mud was still thick and deep. Ash frowned when it tried to swallow his foot, although he was able to pull it out with a yank. He dearly hoped that the rest of the path wasn't this bad.

Before he began, he released Plume. All of his other friends would be bogged down in the mud, and he would like to have at least one of them out if he ran into trouble. Plume would be more than powerful enough to deal with any threats he might encounter.

He stared at the long, winding path ahead of him with trepidation. Although he knew it wasn't the case, he hoped that part of it would have magically avoided the immense storms wracking the region.

Ash shook his head out of those thoughts. He had to deal with it, so he might as well not complain. A moment later he set off into the muddy area.

Fuschia awaited him.

XX

He arrived at Fuschia six days later. The storms had left almost the entire area soaked, so for the first two days his journey was hot, humid, and muddy. It was one of the most miserable times he had weathered so far. Most wild pokemon had become highly active after the storm, so he also had to be on constant vigilance.

But he had finally arrived. He was on a hill that overlooked the small, secluded city. It was far less ostentatious than Celadon and Saffron, and its private nature provided a nice contrast to the large, sprawling cities he had recently travelled to.

The buildings were pretty small. There was nothing really outstanding about the place, although he could see the confines of the massive Safari Zone from his viewpoint. It was gigantic in comparison to the small city that stewarded it.

Ash wasn't sure he was going to visit the Safari Zone. He wanted to get all of his badges as quickly as possible so that he would have plenty of time to train his existing team and possibly find new members that wouldn't be weak in comparison by the time of the Conference.

He had planned out his route. After defeating Koga, he would head towards Cinnabar Island. Ash decided to take the sea route instead of travelling all the way around Kanto. Fuschia had several ferries in its small harbor, so it wouldn't be too difficult to find transportation.

During that time, he would try to stop in the Seafoam Islands. He wanted to find a water-type that could operate on land as well, although one of the rare ice-types would be great as well. Ash didn't have anything that could hope to counter one of the powerful dragons, which he was sure to see if he made it to the advanced stages of the Conference.

After he defeated the Cinnabar gym, he had decided to go back to Sabrina. By then he would hopefully be powerful enough to defeat the psychic leader. If he wasn't, he would train until he was.

And when he defeated Sabrina, he would head to the widely feared and widely avoided Earth gym. Its leader, Giovanni, had a reputation for being ruthless and brutal during battles. He had a worse reputation than Surge when the electric leader was fully unleashed. More pokemon were injured battling him than all of the other gyms combined.

That was also why Ash wanted to defeat the mysterious gym leader. It was the ultimate test of strength until one entered the upper echelons of the Indigo Conference or was lucky and skilled enough to face the Elite Four. To defeat the Earth Gym was the ultimate status symbol amongst most trainers, a sign that the trainer was truly powerful.

But that was a long way from now, Ash thought. For now he just needed to focus on Koga.

He looked down at Fuschia for a few more moments before setting off. It was too late to battle – it was almost dark – but he wanted to get plenty of rest before this battle.

XX

The Pokemon Center was probably the largest structure in the town aside from the gym. Unlike the small homes and modest offices and buildings, the Pokemon Center was massive. It was the size of five or six of the buildings around it and was two stories.

Since the Fuschia gym wasn't very popular amongst trainers due to Koga's unforgiving nature and brutal strategy – the gym leader normally poisoned a pokemon and then either put it to sleep or paralyzed it, leaving it completely helpless – Ash supposed that it was for trainers visiting the Safari Zone.

He didn't really care about that, though. All Ash wanted was hot food, a shower to get rid of the dried mud and muck from the horrible journey, and a bed that didn't wasn't covered in a layer of dried, cracking mud.

Luckily, he got all of that extremely quickly. Afterwards, he let out all of his friends that were allowed to be released before collapsing into the bed. They were just as exhausted as he was, and all quickly found comfortable areas to sleep in.

Ash glanced around the room one last time, smiling as he saw the sleeping forms of his friends. The trainer felt Nidorino's large body at the foot of his bed and patted his friend one last time before lying back down. He fell asleep almost instantly.

XX

Late the next morning, Ash found himself outside of the Fuschia Gym. It was a fifteen minute walk from the Pokemon Center, but that just gave him time to examine the simple city more carefully. He liked the small buildings and architecture. Saffron was impressive, but it was just too big for his liking.

The Pokemon Center wasn't in the best condition, he noticed, but everything worked well. He had remembered to call his mother before leaving, updating her on his status. Ash hadn't spent very long speaking to her, though. He was much too anxious to challenge the gym.

Ash liked the Fuschia Gym. It didn't have the elegant beauty of Sabrina's gym, but wasn't as plain as Brock's warehouse. The building possessed a simple style that reminded Ash more of a cleaned up version of the Dojo than anything else.

He stepped into the gym. The battlefield was clearly visible in the background, although a small desk was set up in front of the door. It was occupied by a young woman, appearing to be just a few years older than Ash. She looked up at Ash and smiled.

"Hey there." She greeted casually. "I'm guessing you want to battle my father?"

Ash nodded, assuming that she meant Koga.

"Ah, the strong silent type, are you?" The girl asked with a grin. Ash stonily looked at her, not sure how he was supposed to react. Gyms were usually all business. "We don't get too many of those. Not that we get too much of anyone, nowadays." She drily remarked.

He cautiously nodded. She smiled again and stood up.

"Anyways, my name's Janine." She offered as she slid the chair back to the desk. Ash could see that she wore a martial arts uniform, although the odd purple hair in an even odder style and the cape made it seem less practical.

"Ash." He replied to her as she turned around and motioned for him to follow.

She bobbed the back of her head in a nod. "Nice name. Anyways, my father's the gym leader here. I'm training to use Poison-types just as well as he can. Usually my Aunt Aya is the receptionist since she doesn't battle anymore, but she was sick today."

Ash was a bit overwhelmed. He had gotten used to the silence of the wilderness. The only communication he had was with his pokemon, who he didn't need to talk. He understood them just fine. Even Dazed was becoming easier to read.

"That's nice." He offered, privately hoping that he could just battle Koga and get out of here.

"Yeah, my father's usually checking up on the Safari Zone right now, but you're lucky. He got back just a few minutes ago." She chattered, not seeming to realize that he'd spoken. "Good luck with my father. He'll probably beat you."

He frowned. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Janine replied, evidently not understanding the sarcasm or just ignoring it. "Anyway, he's here –"

A shadow leapt out from nowhere and choked Janine before kicking her legs out from under her. Ash put his hand to Nidorino's pokeball, but he stopped when the figure turned towards him. He recognized the odd man as Koga.

Koga nodded at him before returning his focus to the helpless Janine.

"You're getting lazy." He chided with a raspy voice as he placed a thin, booted foot onto her throat. "You must be aware of your surroundings even when distracted. I will have to put you through more rigorous training after this challenge."

Ash blinked.

Koga took his foot off of Janine's neck and helped her up. "You cannot be a true member of this gym until you can fight as well without pokemon as you can with them. There are only twelve members of this gym. I would like to see a thirteenth soon."

"Of course, Father." Janine said almost reverently. She was rubbing her neck a bit, but didn't seem to mind the attack. "I've been getting lazy. I'll train with Bruce later."

Ash watched the odd family dynamic curiously, although he took the time to take in Koga.

The man was obviously a fighter. His tight martial arts uniform showed that he wasn't particularly bulky, but he was built lithe and strong. Ash could see that he moved with the fluid grace of a trained fighter. His fierce eyes and angular face made it all the more noticeable.

"Good." Koga replied to Janine. He turned to Ash. "Who are you, challenger?"

"I'm Ash Ketchum."

Koga nodded. "I believe I've heard about you from Surge. Good. This will be a good fight."

Ash nodded, a determined expression settling on his face. He would live up to what Surge had claimed. Koga would be defeated.

Janine stepped forward, her voice shifting into the professional tones of a League referee. She looked at Ash.

"Challenger, take your place on the battlefield."

He nodded and walked over to the nearest box. Koga quickly travelled to the opposite side.

"This will be a three-on-three battle." Janine called out as she took her own position. "The challenger will send out the first pokemon."

Ash frowned at the disadvantage, but quickly sent out Infernus. Although he wanted to use Dazed at some point in this battle, he wanted to hold her back for a while. She would definitely be his trump card should he need it. Brute still wasn't quite up to his standards. The Machoke was improving quickly, but still couldn't match his other friends.

Infernus roared as he was released onto the bare battlefield. He stamped his foot and spit a long stream of flame into the air, attempting to intimidate Koga and whatever pokemon he would send out.

Koga examined Infernus curiously. He scratched his chin as he thought.

"Your magmar is impressive!" Koga shouted, his raspy voice loud and clear even from across the battlefield. "But can he defeat my own ally?"

He released a gigantic muk onto the field. Ash gagged as the putrid, rotting odor of the pokemon hit him. It reminded him far too much of when he was trapped underneath Pierce's own monstrous muk.

Koga didn't wait for the normal formalities. He instantly began giving orders.

"Use poison gas, then sludge!" Koga ordered coolly. Muk quickly followed the orders, producing a large quantity of purple, poisonous gas from its toxic body. It then spit thick, dark sludge towards Infernus. Ash could smell the poison from his box.

"Dodge, flamethrower." Ash said. Infernus quickly leapt out of the sludge's way and blasted a massive stream of flame towards Muk. The fire burned away the poison gas, leaving the area around Muk safe. It also temporarily stunned the poison-type, dealing some damage in the process.

Ash figured that it would be easy to press his advantage. "Flamethrower, close in and fire punch."

Infernus charged towards Muk, dodging three more sludges and sending a steady blast of flame towards the putrid creature. Koga was calling out attacks, but none of them managed to land on Infernus. Soon enough, the fire-type had closed in and slammed his flame-covered fist into Muk.

He grinned when he saw Muk recoil. At least he knew that it wasn't too overwhelmingly powerful. It wouldn't be able to take hits with the power that Infernus possessed.

"Lava plume, follow with fire punch. Flamethrower if conscious."

Infernus stamped his foot to the ground, ignoring the poisonous gas that Muk had begun to produce. An explosion of lava and flame burst around it, coming up from underneath the poison-type and badly burning it. A moment later the ruthless fire-type slammed his flaming fist into the injured Muk, knocking it out for good.

Ash grinned. This was just as easy as he had hoped. Koga had a reputation for being difficult to defeat, but most pokemon weren't as powerful or as well-trained as Infernus.

Koga had a frown on his face. "I see that I will not be disappointed. You will not so easily defeat my next pokemon, however. Go, Weezing!"

He hadn't faced many weezing before. One or two had been in the service of the more powerful Rockets he had fought, but weezing weren't particularly popular. Their gas was incredibly dangerous, and the smell didn't help. But he did know that they were incredibly dangerous if they released their poison and also that they were incredibly durable to physical attacks.

He recalled Infernus. While he didn't think the fire-type would have a difficult time with Weezing, he didn't want him getting poisoned. Nidorino would be a much safer choice.

Koga didn't say anything about Nidorino. He just stared at him for a moment before calling out a few random words to Weezing. The smelly pokemon puffed up a bit more.

Ash frowned. He knew Koga was laying some sort of trap. It would be best to take Weezing out from a distance just to be safe.

"Ice beam, thunderbolt."

Nidorino quickly blasted Weezing with the ice beam. All three energy beams struck their target, encasing Weezing in a thick shell of ice. Ash grinned as the poison-type fell to the ground, its gasses unable to keep it aloft when covered with ice.

His friend grunted as he released the thunderbolt. Ash had to avert his eyes, but could hear Koga's single command. He felt a surge of real panic.

"Nidorino, get out of the way!" He screamed, hoping that Nidorino could react quickly enough.

An instant later a massive surge of energy blasted out from Weezing. Ash felt a momentary, bright flash of heat and light. He had to cover his eyes and turn his face away, but looked back at the battlefield as soon as he could.

Ash sighed. Nidorino hadn't been able to avoid the explosion. His friend was laying unconscious not too far from him, his stomach exposed and his eyes shut.

He had been afraid of the possibility of Koga using self-destruct, Ash thought as he returned his friend. It was a common tactic for those that used koffing and weezing. The poisonous gasses inside of the pokemon were extremely volatile, and could be exploded at will. It didn't cause any permanent harm to the koffing or weezing either, so it was barely sacrificial.

Still, had hadn't expected Koga to use it. The gym leader generally focused more on inflicting conditions that would slowly weaken his foes or simply overpowered them with whatever pokemon he used. Ash hadn't been expecting him to use the sacrifice tactics that most trainers found annoying at best and cowardly at worst.

"Your Nidorino was too powerful for Weezing." Koga said calmly. Ash started and looked at the gym leader. He hadn't been expecting any sort of justification – normally it was only idiots that explained their strategy. "I chose to do at least some damage."

Ash frowned, but nodded. He just wanted to get on with the battle.

He didn't waste any time in choosing his next pokemon. Dazed was quickly sent out. Koga had managed to equalize this battle and Ash didn't want to give the gym leader any chance of victory.

Koga's stern expression twisted into a frown when he saw the drowzee. Ash grinned at the expression. He had Koga afraid.

Then the gym leader smiled. "Thank you, Challenger. You have given me an opportunity to try out my newest pokemon. It's quite exotic, and I doubt that you have seen it before. Go, Seviper!"

Now it was Ash who was frowning. He had heard the name before and knew it was going to be something like arbok, but he wasn't sure of the extent of its abilities. Ash didn't even know what it looked like.

It had to be a poison-type, however. That gave him confidence. Koga's newest twist didn't matter. Dazed still had the advantage.

Then Koga sent out the pokemon.

The first things he noticed were the fangs. They were at least six inches long and were a bright crimson, matching the serpent's eyes. Seviper's long body was tightly coiled, although he could easily see the power hidden in the scaled muscles. Its tail ended in a massive blade, with the black scales slowly shifting into a crimson.

All in all, it looked extremely dangerous. Ash certainly wouldn't give it a chance to get close to Dazed.

"Sludge bomb!" Koga ordered. Seviper was fast. It managed to spit the poisonous substance at Dazed before Ash could blink. "Then attack with Poison Fang and Poison Tail."

"Block that sludge." Ash ordered, knowing that the toxins would probably take Dazed out of the battle. At the very least they would make her easy prey for Seviper. "Then psychic."

Dazed created a thin, telekinetic barrier that blocked the sludge bomb. The poison slid around it, falling to the ground with an audible hiss. Ash smiled, glad that he had avoided the immediate danger.

Despite its quick reaction time, Seviper wasn't particularly fast. It was taking longer than he'd expected to wind towards Dazed, although the glowing, poison-dripping blade and fangs promised danger and pain when it finally arrived.

That wouldn't happen. It made itself easy prey for Dazed's psychic. Seviper was hurled to the other end of the battlefield by the wave of psychic force, causing immense damage to it when it landed. Ash could see that Seviper couldn't take much more.

Koga didn't seem particularly worried. "Use Sludge Gas!"

Seviper quickly followed the order. First it spit a massive amount of poisonous, purple sludge into the air – Ash was amazed it could even store that much in its body, although pokemon and their abilities were always a mystery. It was heading towards Dazed, but Ash figured that there wasn't enough to break Dazed's barrier.

Then Seviper opened its maw and released a large stream of hot flame, hitting the sludge with perfect accuracy. The sludge quickly shifted into a gas form, surrounding Dazed and forcing her to breathe it in. No barrier would protect her from it.

Ash began to panic – he hadn't expected anything like that. Dazed didn't seem to take too much immediate damage from it, but he knew that it would probably slow her down and begin to drain her soon.

"Get out of there!" He shouted. His order snapped Dazed out of her trance and she quickly heeded his command. Dazed used some of her power to blast the toxic gas away, although it was an imperfect process. There was still plenty spreading throughout the battlefield.

Koga ordered Seviper to go after Dazed. Ash felt a sinking feeling in his stomach at the thought of Dazed being anywhere near the long, sharp fangs and gigantic blade. He was almost ready to forfeit the match. Dazed just couldn't handle that kind of physical damage.

"Use psychic on it when you can. Block anything it attacks you with!" Ash ordered, too worried about the stumbling, weakened Dazed to shorten his orders. She slowly nodded and turned her squat form to face the serpent. It was halfway across the battlefield.

"Flamethrower." Koga commanded. Seviper's stream of flame quickly raced across the field towards Dazed, although she managed to raise a telekinetic shield to block it. The heat still did a bit of damage, but it was far better than the alternative.

She sent a psybeam in response, proving to Ash that she was weakening. Dazed was always good about following orders. The psybeam meant that she was too tired to use a psychic.

Seviper took the beam. It knocked the serpent back a bit and stunned it, but Seviper quickly continued winding towards Dazed. The serpent dodged a second psybeam and sent another flamethrower in response.

Dazed's fragile barrier shattered beneath the onslaught, allowing the full force of the flamethrower to hit her. Ash had to turn his face from the intense blast of heat. The sinking feeling in his stomach only got worse.

When he turned back, Seviper was just about to lunge at Dazed. Dazed looked ready to collapse, but pulled herself up from the position the flamethrower had forced her into. Ash quickly called out for her to use a psybeam. He didn't think that she had the focus required for a zen headbutt.

Her psybeam lacked any of the usual intensity. It barely affected Seviper, only serving to annoy it as it swiped its blade – which was glowing a bright purple and leaked massive quantities of poison – at Dazed. The blade easily injected the poison into her, and Ash got ready to forfeit. He wouldn't put any of his pokemon through this.

Then Dazed unleashed a massive wave of psychic power, hurling Seviper back. Ash blinked and stared at Dazed as she stood upright and began glowing, the power now suffusing her banishing the effects of the toxins.

A wide grin slowly split his face as he realized what was going on. This battle wasn't over – Dazed was evolving!

He felt a brief surge of thanks towards whatever gave him such a great piece of luck, but soon began to simply observe Dazed's transformation. Dazed was glowing so brightly that he had to shade his eyes – and even then it still caused a decent bit of pain and an overwhelmingly strong urge to snap them shut – but he forced the pain back and got the best look he could.

From what he could make out, her form was rapidly shifting and growing, although sometimes reverting back to the form of a drowzee. Gradually, however, she stayed in the taller, leaner form of a hypno longer and longer before reverting back.

After nearly a minute of this, the white energy suddenly intensified beyond belief. Ash remembered the great surge of light that had nearly blinded him when Nidoran evolved and turned his head. Even with the warning, the white light that burned with the power of a sun could be clearly seen through his eyelids.

Then it disappeared. Ash rubbed his eyes for a moment before opening. He still saw stars, but now he could see somewhat decently. The first thing he did was look towards his friend.

Dazed was far taller and more human-like than she had been as a drowzee. Her previously rotund form was now tall and lean. She now had fully yellow skin, the murky brown of her drowzee form having completely vanished. Two cat-like ears had sprouted from her head, and her eyes were just as sleepy as before. A large nose had appeared in place of her trunk, although it was roughly the same size as the trunk had been. Dazed had also grown a long, white mane of fur. It seemed longer than the other members of her species, but Ash remembered that the pokedex had said females had longer manes.

He noticed that she didn't have the pendulum that all hypno possessed. Perhaps she would have to fashion it herself somehow. Ash didn't pay much attention to it, however. Even though she would be weaker without the pendulum, Dazed's psychic powers would still be amplified.

Koga still seemed a little bit shocked, so Ash decided to take advantage of it. Seviper was angrily hissing at Dazed, but seemed too well-trained to make a move without its trainer's command.

"Psychic!" He called out. Dazed's new ears twitched and she stared at Seviper. Ash could see a bright blue light emanating from her face – presumably from her eyes – and that Seviper was now surrounded by an icy blue aura.

Koga quickly recovered and tried to call out orders, but Seviper was helpless to do anything but futilely struggle against the psychic power controlling it. Dazed then released a massive blast of telekinetic force, sending Seviper flying across the battlefield and into the invisible barrier surrounding it.

Ash blinked, in awe of how powerful the attack was. He knew that drowzee and hypno's power was mainly held in defense against psychic and elemental attacks, but the offensive power displayed by Dazed was impressive. It was probably just related to the overall boost in power she received from evolution.

Seviper couldn't handle the powerful psychic assault. It weakly tried to struggle back up and return to the fight, but Koga recalled it.

Koga looked at Ash. "You did well. It is clear that your drowzee cared a great deal for you in order to evolve. You have proven worthy of the Soul Badge."

"Thanks." Ash replied. He walked out of the box before jogging over to Dazed. She was only an inch or two taller than him, but it was odd. As a drowzee, he had towered over her.

"You did great!" He said with a grin. Dazed had no mouth now, but he could see in her eyes that she was smiling. His tone shifted to one of concern. "Are you alright? You took a real beating out there. Is the poison gone?"

Dazed slowly nodded. Her eyes no longer seemed exhausted as they had as a drowzee, Ash noticed. Instead they merely seemed sleepy.

He smiled again and patted her on the shoulder. Dazed stiffened at the contact, but quickly relaxed. Ash turned to Koga, who had left his own box and was patiently waiting for him.

Ash walked over. Dazed stayed in her position, blankly staring into empty space.

Koga had a badge case out and was in the process of removing one when Ash walked up. He patiently waited for Koga to give him the badge.

"I can see that Surge was not exaggerating." Koga said as he handed Ash the badge. Ash examined the badge for a moment. It was in the smooth form of a fuschia heart. "There's still many months left before the Conference. Should you continue advancing at this rate, I believe that you will do very well."

Ash nodded. "Thank you."

Koga nodded. "I expect you to return here in several months." The gym leader suddenly smiled widely, exposing his teeth. "I want a rematch, and I will use my true team against you."

That made Ash grin. "I'm looking forward to it. I'll return when I'm ready." He promised. Koga nodded.

"Very well, then. But for now, I must leave. Janine requires training, and there is much to do. I bid you farewell."

Ash said his own goodbye before leaving the gym. He returned Dazed – who was still staring into space with glazed eyes – and hurried to the Pokemon Center. Even though Dazes seemed perfectly fine, he wanted to get her checked on. It was best to get it over with – that poison might cause minor complications in the future.

He reached the Pokemon Center soon enough. Unfortunately, there was no one at the front desk at the moment. Ash frowned and picked out a seat. It might be a while.

XX

Ash didn't have to wait too long. After about ten minutes, a tired, worn-down Nurse Joy emerged from the back. She was clearly exhausted, but managed to keep a surprisingly sincere smile on her face as he stepped forward.

"Hello! How may I help you?" She asked. Ash coughed before answering. He had been congested for the past few days, probably a result of the horrible weather and the many different areas he had passed through. It wasn't a problem though. Not yet, anyway.

"Some of my pokemon were hurt at the gym. Also, my drowzee just evolved, but she had just taken a pretty bad beating and breathed in poison before she did." He replied. "I just want to make sure she isn't going to have any problems."

Nurse Joy clucked her tongue disapprovingly when he mentioned the gym. "I've told Koga a million times to stop using poison so much. He's giving me more work than I can handle." She growled to herself. The nurse's tired face shifted from the annoyed look quickly, however. "You made a good choice. That poison might be in your drowzee's system. Just leave your pokemon with me. They'll be cleared as soon as I can work with them."

Ash nodded his thanks and handed over the necessary pokeballs. He would probably get Nidorino and Infernus back in just a few hours. Nidorino might need a potion or two, but he was tough. Once he was conscious he would be ready for battle in a day or so. Infernus hadn't even been hit, although he might have been mildly poisoned by the contact with Muk.

He went back to his room. It was a little bit dirty and had an odd, musty odor pervading the air, but Ash didn't really care. Compared to the conditions he had been sleeping in for the last few weeks, however, it was wonderful.

Since it would be a while before he could get his pokemon back, he would only be paying his room a brief visit. He needed to collect his pack, which held all of his money. While his friends were being healed, Ash was going to go down to the harbor and see if there were any ferries that he could take to the Seafoam Islands. He wanted to get out of this city, so he might as well get all the arrangements out of the way.

XX

Before he left for the harbor, Ash went to the Pokemon Center's small library and computer room. He sat down at one of the PCs and quickly placed a large portion of his money into a slot on the side of the PC. It quickly transferred the money to his trainer identity, which meant that he could use it anywhere and didn't have to worry about it being stolen.

Once he had put most of the money onto his account, Ash logged off and went to the main desk. Nurse Joy was gone, but one of her assistants had taken her place. She was only a few years older than him and was just as exhausted as Joy was – the girl was currently face planted into the desk and snoring softly.

Ash lightly tapped her shoulder. When the girl resolutely stayed asleep, he sighed and shook her shoulder. That woke her – the girl instantly snapped up and looked around with wild eyes.

"I'm awake! I'm awake! I wasn't sleeping!" She said frantically, eyes quickly glancing around before settling on Ash. When she saw him, she visibly relaxed. "Oh, sorry. I thought you were Nurse Joy. Anyways, how can I help you?"

"I'm going to be heading to the Seafoam Islands soon." He explained. "Do you know where I could find a ferry?"

The girl looked thoughtful for a moment. "There's a ferry leaving for Cinnabar in a few days. You could probably buy a ticket. It would be expensive, though." She warned. "It's a long trip, and there have been a few gyarados in the area as of late."

"Thanks for the tip, but money's not an issue." He said with a shrug. "Could you tell me where to get a ticket?"

"Give me a minute." The attendant said. Ash nodded and patiently waited as she scrounged through a few flyers and pamphlets sitting on the table. Soon enough, she found what she was looking for and handed it to Ash. "Captain Stewart. This will give you the information to find him. Do you need anything else?"

Ash shook his head. "No, but thank you."

"We hope to see you again." The attendant replied as he left. Ash was too focused on reading the flyer to acknowledge her. He only looked up to exit the Pokemon Center.

It took a few seconds to decipher the writing on the crumpled piece of paper, but it gave him everything he needed to know. Ash quickly folded it up and put it into his jacket's pocket, just in case he needed it in the future.

Now that he knew where he needed to go, he headed off. Ash wasn't in a hurry. He had plenty of time.

XX

Half an hour later, Ash found himself at the harbor. He felt uncomfortable around the ocean, no matter how calm and peaceful it looked. The memories of churning, icy water and the drowning ship were always at the forefront of his mind. Ash did his best to ignore it, but he only had limited success.

It didn't take long for him to find a sailor that could point him to the ferry he was hoping to catch – the Roaring Wailmer. An odd name, he thought, but who was he to judge. He named one of his pokemon Dazed.

Ash felt somewhat awkward as he waited on the dock by the gently rocking ship. He tried to stay in the very center of the wooden pier, but that was just attracting more odd looks. Eventually one of the sailors on the Wailmer casually leapt off and walked up to him.

"Ya need something, kid?" The large man asked in a scratchy voice. It sounded like he had been swallowing extremely coarse sand. He had on a long overcoat and had a pipe in his mouth. All in all, he appeared to be the stereotypical grizzled sailor.

Ash nodded and straightened up his posture.

"I need to buy a ticket for this ship to get me to the Seafoam Islands. Can you tell me who to talk to?"

The sailor laughed. "That would be me, actually. Captain Stewart of the Roaring Wailmer at your service. Anyways, tickets are two thousand each."

Ash winced at the steep price but nodded and began to count out the money. The only other vessel going to the Seafoam Islands and then to Cinnabar was a bit more than sketchy, and appeared to be barely seaworthy. Each of the three sailors he had spoken to since arriving had warned him away from it as well.

"Hold on, kid." The Captain said, placing one of his calloused hands up in the air. "I'm just messin' with ya. It's only a thousand. And before you shell out that kind of money, you should know the dangers. The route to the Seafoam Islands is tricky, and I don't want you getting into a situation you can't get out of."

"Is it the gyarados?" Ash asked. "A few people have already told me about them."

Captain Stewart shook his head. "The sea serpents? They aren't a big deal. I've got one of my own, and a few other surprises for the nasties. No, I'm just talking about the sea. Its prone to storms and freak weather this time of year. Lots of corsola colonies set up as well. I won't have much trouble, but I figured a kid like you should know of the dangers."

"I'm fine with it." Ash replied. He held out the money.

The Captain grinned, his scraggly beard waving in the salty wind as he did so. He pulled a slightly soggy ticket out from his pocket and handed it to Ash, taking the money in return. "Glad to see some of you kids still have balls. Get here in two days at about eight in the morning. Everything will be ready by then."

"Thanks." Ash replied. He looked at the small ticket for a moment before placing it into his jacket pocket. It would be safe there – he always had his jacket on, and this way he wouldn't forget it.

Now that his business was done, he marked the location of the Wailmer on his PokeNav's map function. After that, he began the journey back to the Pokemon Center. Hopefully he could at least get Infernus back.

XX

Nidorino had more severe injuries than he had expected, but his friend would be ready to battle in just two days. He was tough.

Infernus had been mildly poisoned, but his own high body temperature had been more enough to destroy the tiny dose he had been given. Nurse Joy gave him an antidote just to be sure that all traces would be removed. Ash planned on taking him out to battle some of the trainers that hung around the area. The magmar needed to get rid of some of his aggression.

Dazed was covered in all sorts of medical scanners. Small pads were placed on her chest, apparently to check on her respiratory functions. Ash couldn't pretend to know what all of them were for, even if he had picked up a healthy amount of pokemon medical knowledge over the past few months. Steven had been adamant in making sure he knew the basics.

Ash was glad that all of his friends would be alright, but he had been hoping to test Dazed out on some of the unsuspecting trainers in the area. She had potent abilities as a hypno. He wanted to see just how powerful they were.

Since Nidorino and Dazed couldn't leave the Pokemon Center, however, Ash opted to stay with them. He could battle all he wanted tomorrow. Right now he would be with his friends.

He shrugged and looked around his small room. Nidorino was too exhausted to stay awake and, despite his best efforts to stay awake by Ash's side, had fallen asleep next to Ash's feet. Dazed was staring at the sleeping poison-type. Ash didn't know if she was merely watching Nidorino's dream or taking a bit of sustenance from it.

Torrent was restlessly swimming around in the large aquarium, head butting the nigh invulnerable glass every now and then. When it failed to even crack, he would angrily glare at the transparent material before returning to his swim. Ash knew that there was a large lake to the northeast of Fuschia, and he would definitely be taking Torrent to it tomorrow. His friend hadn't had many chances to battle or even swim over the past few months.

Plume was haphazardly perched on the back of his chair. She had finally realized that she was too heavy to perch on Ash's shoulder anymore – it had only taken four or five times of her massive bulk knocking him over to impress that fact into her head – but still tried to perch as near to him as possible. Ash just made sure to lean his weight forward in the chair a bit to balance it. He liked being close to Plume.

Infernus and Bruiser were too large and wild to have in the room. Bruiser was still just a bit too wild, although he was far calmer and more peaceful than Infernus. He also didn't have full control over his massive strength, although the restraining belt Bruiser wore helped. That led Ash to believe that he had only recently evolved from machop.

As for Infernus…he would probably get bored and burn the entire Center to the ground. Infernus was still far more aggressive than even Nidorino, and only Torrent's lust for battle matched his own. Combined with the fact that Infernus enjoyed exercising the great power at his control, and it added up to mean that he was best kept in a pokeball in a city.

Ash smiled as he thought of his friends, but it morphed into a thoughtful frown. He wasn't sure what he could do today. There weren't any books, and Ash wanted to stay with Nidorino and Dazed in the room.

Then he remembered the pokedex. He hadn't been looking at the wonderful little device as much lately, although he still checked up on entries that he wanted to investigate. Ash had probably read every entry in the pokedex he could at least once, but he figured that he might as well read it again.

He never knew what he might encounter in his journey, after all, and he would like to be ready.

On that note, Ash withdrew the pokedex from his jacket pocket and flipped it open. He decided to start at the first entry he could access: bulbasaur. It would be a long road from there.

XX

The next day he took his friends out to battle. Nidorino was healed enough to walk around with him, and Dazed had been cleared completely.

His first stop was the groups of trainers that hung around the roads into the city. They generally preyed upon newbie trainers or anyone that looked like they could beat. Ash tested Dazed out on them. She performed perfectly – her psychic powers were greatly amplified and easily eliminated most foes they fought. Some did quite a bit of damage to her, however, and she was knocked out once.

Ash gladly paid the prize money to the trainer that succeeded in defeating Dazed. The trainer had a powerful gengar and more than deserved the win. Besides, he still made quite a bit and learned just how far he could push his friend.

After that he moved onto another road, where he let Infernus battle. Although Infernus quickly overpowered most opponents, he had a few battles that posed a great challenge to him. An espeon and feraligatr were the most powerful foes, and Ash actually had to reassert his authority over Infernus when the enraged magmar began to try to take things a bit too far with the foes. That disappointed Ash a bit, but he realized that it would take a lot longer to fully fix some of Infernus' worst habits.

Torrent enjoyed the battles at the large lake. He proved that, despite being unable to battle very much over the past month, he was still more than able to keep up with the rest of the team. Ash couldn't wait until Torrent evolved into a kingdra and was able to take part in battles on land.

All of his other pokemon got in several battles as well. Bruiser performed admirably, although he still had difficulty in fights where he couldn't simply overpower the foe. Ash would have to remember to focus on training Bruiser's technique more.

Plume continued to show off her speed. While she didn't have access to many powerful moves, the sheer force and speed that she put behind them more than made up for it. All Ash would have to work on was mastering some of the most advanced moves that pidgeot could learn, although Plume would have to become far more experienced and powerful before that could occur.

By the end of the day, all of them were tired and ready to return to the Pokemon Center. They were all pleased with the day's outcome, however. It would be the last bit of battling they could get in for a few days.

Ash quickly fell asleep, although he remembered to call his mother and set several alarms before he collapsed into bed. The last thing he felt was Nidorino jumping to the foot of the bed before he fell into unconsciousness.

XX

He dragged himself to the dock early the next morning. Ash gave a groggy goodbye to Nurse Joy before leaving. She'd helped him out a lot during his stay.

It was horribly cold. Fuschia was in one of the colder regions of Kanto to begin with, but it was still summer. Maybe a cold front was coming in, although it might just be the early morning chill. Whatever it was, it made Ash wish that he had a much thicker jacket.

Ash had been sleeping in the past few days, so the trip to the dock was brutal. He wanted nothing more than to go back to the warm bed he had just left at the Pokemon Center and find another way to the Seafoam Islands.

Still, he managed to get himself there. He arrived nearly half an hour early, and had woken up an entire hour before that. Captain Stewart was waiting outside the ship, which was clearly ready for travel. The small crew was lazing about the ship, apparently having completed their work.

The Captain looked completely at home in the freezing weather. He removed his long pipe from his mouth when Ash walked up. There were only four other people waiting with him, all looking as miserable as Ash.

"Ahoy there!" He said cheerfully, blowing a long stream of smoke out of his mouth. Ash blinked. "I'm glad to see you, kid. You'll definitely be getting your money's worth – we're going to be sailing straight past a storm. Nothing dangerous, but it'll be fun."

Ash tiredly nodded and grunted. Stewart just laughed and turned to one of the other sailors. He was too tired to listen to their talk, and stared with trepidation at the cold, churning ocean. The Captain only interrupted him from his thoughts once in order to tell him the safety plans. At least that meant that Ash wouldn't have to focus when the Captain gave explained them to the rest of the passengers.

He dearly wanted to find any excuse to get away from the sea. Ash was sure he would try to stay inside and away from actually having to see the sweeping waves, but that didn't make much of a difference. The best solution would just be to sleep through the entire trip or not know that he was in a boat to begin with.

Thirty other people showed up before they boarded. The sailor that checked everyone's tickets just waved Ash through, telling him to pick whatever cabin he wanted. Apparently seeing him converse with the Captain was enough proof that he had a ticket.

Ash felt his heart pounding as he walked onto the smooth wooden deck of the ferry and almost fell over as the boat rocked. He found his sea legs soon enough, however, and managed to make his way to the first cabin he saw without falling over.

He quickly locked the door when he went in and set his pack down. Ash released Nidorino and Dazed before collapsing onto the thin, uncomfortable bed. The trainer barely noticed the springs lightly jabbing into his back before falling into unconsciousness. All he felt before blacking out was Nidorino settling at the very foot of the bed.

The Seafoam Islands awaited him.


	7. Chapter 7: The Caverns

**A/N: I altered my style a bit this chapter, so tell me if you like the change or not. This chapter came out pretty good, at least in my eyes, so I hope all of you like it as well. Remember to review, and Happy Valentine's Day!**

Ash casually leaned over the side of the ship, staring at the deep blue waves. They'd been travelling for two long days and he had gradually gotten more comfortable on the ship. A small storm had rocked the boat for most of the first day, but after that the ocean had been mostly peaceful.

While being on the boat didn't make his fists clench or his teeth grit anymore, he still couldn't wait to get off of it. Aside from being quite dull, he just wasn't comfortable around the ocean. Too many bad memories.

He sighed and pulled himself up, barely noticing how cold the steel bar was. The boredom was the worst part of this trip. Most of the passengers kept to themselves, and he could only talk to the small crew so many times before they had to go off and work.

Captain Stewart talked to him more than any of the others, and Ash found that he quite liked the old sailor. The Captain had apparently been quite the powerful trainer at one point, although he never challenged any of the Leagues. He still had a gyarados and a few other pokemon that he wouldn't say anything about to prove it.

Still, the Captain had been busy for the last few hours. Ash looked down at Nidorino, who was anxiously pacing around him. His friend still hated the ocean with a fierce passion and rarely accompanied Ash to the deck. But he was acting more stressed and nervous than usual right now.

"It's alright." He said soothingly, crouching down to his friend's level. Nidorino just looked up at him with wild eyes before beginning to pace again. "We're safe."

Nidorino grunted softly and shook his purple head. Ash sighed and patted his friend again. "Do you want to go back into your pokeball? I'll be heading inside soon anyway."

Ash was somewhat surprised when Nidorino shook his head again, but didn't question his friend's decision. He shrugged it off and returned to his former position. Watching the ocean was calming, even if it left his heart pounding and his face pale if the waves grew too strong.

He watched the ocean. The sun was hidden behind a thick layer of clouds, so everything appeared gray and dull. It matched the temperature perfectly.

Then he noticed something. Something far away was moving, but he could barely see it. Still, from the distance he could see it from it had to be quite large. Ash felt a sinking sensation in stomach as it slowly drew nearer, but didn't do anything yet. He didn't want to cause any alarm if he couldn't actually tell what it was.

Ash thought about releasing Plume to go and check it out, but eventually thought better of it. There were too many things that might try to attack her. Plume would be more than capable of defending herself, but he didn't have access to anything that could help her if she got injured.

So he waited for another two minutes, eyes locked on the approaching creature. It finally grew near enough that he could make out massive, looping coils and a large, open mouth. That's when Ash's blood froze.

"Gyarados!" He shouted. Everyone had to be warned. Ash knew that none of his pokemon had the firepower to stop a gyarados. Nidorino had thunderbolt, but that alone wouldn't stop one of the great sea serpents.

Panic ensued the moment he spoke the dreaded word. Two burly sailors quickly ran over to him, dropping their previous tasks the moment they heard him.

"Where?" One grunted, his hand on a pokeball. He remembered that the sailor's name was Briant. Ash pointed at the looping coils of muscle and scale that were quickly drawing closer. Both sailors grew pale. "Damn it! Astley, go get the Captain. We don't have the power for this."

The shorter of the two nodded and ran off. Ash glanced down at Nidorino before turning to the sailor. Nidorino was shaking a bit, but his eyes were hard and ready for battle.

"What do we do?" He asked. The huge man looked down at Ash with worried eyes.

"You have any electric-types?" He asked. Ash noticed that his hands were shaking a bit as the man gripped onto the iron bars.

Ash shook his head. "Nidorino knows thunderbolt, though."

Briant gave a tight nod. "Good. Get ready to use it. The Captain can drive it off, but he might need a distraction. Go to the middle of the deck. It's not safe to be on the edge."

He nodded and followed Briant's instructions. Ash noticed that his entire body was shaking a bit in both fear and anticipation of the coming battle. While he doubted that he would contribute very much to this fight – Captain Stewart's gyarados and whatever other pokemon the older man had would be the main players – this would be the first time that he fought a gyarados.

Soon enough, Captain Stewart ran out of the cabins and onto the deck. He was surprisingly swift for his age, and had a hard look that was unfamiliar to Ash. Stewart had two pokeballs in his hands and quickly spotted the gyarados that was making its way towards them. It would reach the boat very soon.

"Everybody that isn't a trainer get inside!" The old man roared, his voice easily overriding the strong winds that had suddenly begun to form. He looked over at Ash. "You! Do you have any electric-types?"

Ash shook his head. "Nidorino knows thunderbolt."

"Good!" Stewart shouted, a wide grin suddenly forming on his aged face. "Use it the second it gets close enough. I'm gonna lay a surprise for this beastie!"

"You heard him, buddy." Ash muttered to Nidorino. Nidorino resolutely nodded and tensed, more than ready for the fight to come. The trainer just watched the gyarados get closer and closer. Soon it was near enough that he could discern its features.

A few seconds later, it was in range. Nidorino tensed and briefly became surrounded by a massive aura of arcing electricity. It then focused onto his horn before blasting through the air towards the ominously advancing gyarados, who had just begun to rear its massive head back in preparation for the attack.

The massive bolt of electricity struck the gyarados in the massive plates that armored its underside. Gyarados roared in pain as electricity coursed through its body, but its sheer power managed to resist the bulk of the attack. It then ducked underneath the water in order to avoid any more such attacks.

Ash fought down the burst of adrenaline that flooded his veins and grinned over at Nidorino. "Good job! You know what to do when you see it again."

Nidorino grunted in response and squared himself in an attempt to keep more stability. Ash glanced over at the Captain, who had just thrown two pokeballs high into the air.

They opened, releasing two long, serpent like pokemon into the water. The larger of the two was clearly the gyarados that the Captain had told Ash about. It was an ancient, monstrous specimen of the breed. Its scales were heavy and plated, but scarred from innumerable battles. The fins surrounding its gaping mouth were torn, but that didn't detract from the twenty five foot long beast's terrifying appearance.

As for the other, it was much like the gyarados in size, but it was far less bulky and was slim. It was still larger than most pokemon Ash had seen, but it had an incredible beauty to it that Ash hadn't seen in any other pokemon. Its tiny, almost unnoticeable scales changed color as it moved. Ash didn't know what it was, but the elegant creature seemed far too perfect to ever use in battle.

"Gira! Find that damn gyarados and use giga impact! Tora, calm that thing down!"

Ash watched in awe as the two massive serpents began to follow their orders. The gyarados dived down into the water, its size and bulk splashing salty sea water onto the deck as it did so. The other pokemon began to glow a vivid pink, slowly sending pulses of pink energy into the water and the air.

He stared at the mysterious pokemon for a few more seconds before walking over to Captain Stewart, who looked oddly calm for the situation. Ash stumbled when the boat began to rock – he didn't know what the two gyarados were doing, but it was causing the sea around them to explode upwards. The remnants of a hyper beam blasted out of the sea, carrying a good amount of water with it before the bright orange beam dissipated.

"What do you think of the battle, kid?" Stewart asked with a grin. The Captain was casually leaning on the side of the cabins, his former seriousness gone and replaced with childlike glee. "Wish it were above water. Battles between gyarados are incredible."

"It's impressive." Ash said with a small smile. A sudden cyclone erupted out of the water, slamming into the side of the ship. It barely knocked the ferry to the side, but it did completely drench Ash. He sighed before continuing. "What's your other pokemon? I've never seen it before."

Stewart laughed and took his pipe out of his mouth, blowing a great deal of smoke into the air. "That, boy, is a milotic. One of the rarest pokemon in the world as well as one of the most powerful. I think of milotic as a sort of counterpart to gyarados. I'm lucky enough to have the pair - I looked for its pre-evolution for sixteen years before finding it. She was worth every second of it."

Ash nodded, but flinched when the two gyarados suddenly exploded out of the water only twenty feet away. He shielded his eyes from the sea water, but Stewart just calmly watched and smoked his pipe. The trainer quickly returned to watching the battle.

The Captain never gave Gira any orders. Gira seemed experienced enough to battle incredibly well on its own. Ash noticed that it was slightly slower than the other gyarados, but the other's attacks barely seemed to scratch the thick armor of scales Gira possessed. Gira's own attacks seemed more refined – it bit right in the small chinks between the gyarados' armor.

"This shouldn't take too long." Stewart said, breaking the silence. "That gyarados is just a baby. Probably just evolved – its scales are thin and its pretty tiny. Gira is just playing with it."

While he wasn't sure he could call anything that enormous tiny, Ash accepted the old sailor's words. Stewart seemed to be a Master when it came to water-types, or at least have the knowledge of one.

Ash watched the battle for a few more minutes, in awe at the sheer endurance and power of the gyarados. They had both done damage to each other that would instantly knock out and badly injure any other pokemon, but neither seemed willing to stop.

It wasn't until the other gyarados used hyper beam, blasting the thick stream of bright orange energy straight into Gira's armored hide and blasting Gira into the sea, that Stewart gave any orders.

"Gira, use thunder. Tora, get up here."

The milotic elegantly floated out of the water somehow. Ash wondered if it was part dragon or psychic. It landed heavily on the deck besides them and nearly took up the entire length of the ship, although Tora took up less room when she coiled up.

Tora gave out a low, keening cry as she placed her scaled head near Stewart. The old sailor grinned and patted her gently before turning his focus to the battle. Gira had just pulled itself out of the water and was arcing with electricity.

"Won't that hurt Gira as well?" Ash asked.

Stewart shook his head. "Gira's a tough old bastard. He has some resistance to electricity now. It'll hurt, but it won't knock him out."

Ash was satisfied with the explanation and watched carefully as Gira released an incredible amount of electricity into the water, sending the amplified attack straight into the other gyarados. The gyarados roared and thrashed wildly for a few seconds before falling unconscious. It slowly sank into the water. Gira roared his victory before slowly swimming back to the ferry.

"Good job, Gira." Stewart said lazily. Gira roared in response. Ash unintentionally backed away when he saw the gaping maw and the fangs that were longer than his arm. "I'll be sure to get you something special once we hit land."

Gira seemed satisfied and patiently waited to be recalled. When Stewart did, he turned to Ash. "Kid, you should get your Nidorino and head to your cabin. Clean up is going to take a while."

Ash nodded and did as the Captain said. Nidorino followed right behind him as he walked back to his room, hoping that it hadn't gotten any water in it from the battle. The deck was completely flooded, but the rest of the ship had seemed pretty secure.

It turned out that he was lucky. While there was a bit of water that had drained into the halls, his cabin was completely dry. Ash sat down on his bed and pulled out the pokedex. There wasn't much to do, and he wanted to look over the pokemon that frequented the Seafoam Islands.

XX

The rest of the journey was thankfully uneventful. It took another two days for them to arrive at the small group of islands, but it wasn't quite as boring. The gyarados attack had been the talk of the ship, and Stewart had let him see Tora and Gira again afterwards, along with his third pokemon, which was a wailord that was larger than the ferry. Ash was amazed at how strong all of them were. They were old, but hadn't lost any of their strength.

He had learned quite a bit about water-types as well. Stewart had taught him a few things about seadra that the pokedex hadn't mentioned – apparently they could learn to levitate in the air after extensive training, although Stewart didn't recommend that Ash try it unless he had a few months of down time – and told Ash that he might find one of the rare Dragon Scales in the Seafoam Caverns or at one of the small markets at the Islands.

While he didn't plan on evolving Torrent yet – he wanted Torrent to grow more powerful and get some additional experience before he evolved – Ash wouldn't mind having the Dragon Scale. They were incredibly rare and were only found in dragonite or the other fully evolved dragon lairs, and he would jump at the chance to obtain one.

Ash felt quite a bit of relief when he saw the four islands from the boat. He didn't have quite as much trouble with the ocean anymore, but it still made him anxious and he wanted to get back onto land the second he could. His pack was ready and he was practically jumping as the ship neared the small harbor.

As they drew mere minutes away from disembarking, Ash fought his way to the front of the line and listened to Captain Stewart as he spoke to them. The Captain was precariously perched atop a crate and seemed perfectly comfortable shouting instructions at them.

"Now that we're nearly at our destination, I have to tell you a few things!" He shouted over the wind. "We're staying here for four days. We're leaving at eight in the morning on the fifth day, so don't sleep in. You can either come back to the ship to sleep or find somewhere on the island. If any of you trainers are interested in heading into the Seafoam Caverns, wait and talk to me after the rest leave."

Ash groaned when he heard he would have to stay aboard. He slipped through the crowd to the empty area near the Captain, who nodded at him in greeting. Stewart leapt down from his perch, not showing any discomfort from the shock of the fall.

"I'll go ahead and tell you what to do." He said, taking his pipe out of his mouth. "Anyways, the entrance is pretty easy to find. But buy a thick jacket and plenty of things to keep you warm." Stewart warned. "The Caverns are the coldest place in Kanto, and it's the Ice Time at the moment."

"The what?"

"The Ice Time." Stewart replied with a shrug. "It's what the locals call it when the entire cave system freezes over. Normally only the bottom levels are frozen, but for a few months every year the entire cave freezes. It means that there are more ice-types running around, but it's dangerous as hell. Be careful in there and make sure you have enough food. Do you have a fire-type?"

Ash nodded. "A magmar."

Stewart grinned. "Good. Don't try to use it in battle – the water-types will hurt it badly – but using it to keep you warm is a good idea. You'll go through hell in there, but it's worth it. By the way, you need to go to the Pokemon Center and tell the authorities you're going in."

Ash nodded his thanks and went to rejoin the rest of the crowd. He really was glad that he would be able to get off the ship early. Dry land would be a great relief.

A few minutes later the ship docked. Ash was amongst the first of the passengers off. He felt a quick surge of glee when he landed on the wooden dock – he was finally on solid ground, if not land. The trainer quickly escaped the area before the other passengers could clog it up.

He glanced around the island once he was away from the dock. The Seafoam Islands were small and isolated, but they served as an important way station between Fuschia and Cinnabar. They were tropical, but the air was rather chilly and held none of the warmth that he had expected, likely due to the "Ice Time". It was incredibly bright, however.

The resort area that they had landed it was rather small. Ash thought that he might like to return sometime when it was actually warm. None of the locals or tourists seemed to notice how cold it was, however. Many were either laying out on the beach or frolicking in the shallow water. He shuddered just from watching the display and found his attention drawn to a small herd of slowpoke that carelessly slept on the beach. A few were awake and lazily dipping their tails into the river in search of food. Ash frowned when he saw an odd looking man with a lab coat and distinctively large nose watching the slowpoke with a strange look in his eye as he scribbled down notes.

His hand almost went to his pack in order to withdraw a pokeball, but he thought better of it. Ash didn't want to disturb the herd, and he expected that such an action would annoy the locals. Besides, in a few hours he would be in an environment full of far more powerful pokemon.

Ash walked around for a bit and took in the sights. The area appeared to be an ordinary tourist trap – huts full of gaudy jewelry and brightly colored souvenirs littered the area. Quite a few people were stopped at them, either examining the wares or buying them.

He turned away and looked for someone he could ask for directions. It didn't take too long, and he quickly found a helpful local who gave him directions to the Pokemon Center. Ash thanked the tall, shirtless man and followed his instructions.

The Pokemon Center wasn't too far from the beach. It was unlike many other Pokemon Centers in that it had a similar style of architecture as the buildings around it. If it hadn't been for the large insignia emblazoned upon the building and its distinctive size he never would have noticed the difference. It was wide and flat and only appeared to be a single story, and was built with simple plaster walls.

Ash walked in after taking it in. He casually pushed the door open, but gasped when the air of the Pokemon Center hit him. It was freezing and he wished he had a jacket. There were quite a few people lingering in it and talking and laughing to each other. Ash thought that it might be the busiest Pokemon Center of its size that he had encountered.

Before he talked to the Nurse Joy casually leaning on the counter, he followed the sign that would take him to the room where he could speak to Professor Oak and see about that zubat that had been taken from the dead Rocket grunt's belt. He hadn't even thought of it for more than a month, but he'd been thinking about his venture into the Seafoam Caverns a lot during the sea trip and realized that Plume wouldn't be able to do anything in the Caverns.

While she would probably take whatever cold temperature there was better than he would, Plume wouldn't be able to stand up to anything that had access to an ice-type move. The cold would weaken her to begin with, and an actual attack would easily defeat her. In addition, she probably wouldn't have room to maneuver in a cave.

Since he liked to have something that could scout, Ash had decided to check on the zubat. If it was rehabilitated, great. He would be able to meet a new friend. If not, he could just keep Plume in her pokeball.

Ash felt a little nervous as he punched in Professor Oak's number. The large screen was black as the Pokemon Professor was called, and Ash patiently waited until it finally flickered to life. He looked at the small room the screen revealed curiously. He recognized it as Professor Oak's main computer room. It was rather comfortable looking, and had windows that Ash could see out of. Professor Oak wasn't there.

He frowned, but the Professor entered the picture a few moments later. Oak had on his usual lab coat and outfit, but his graying hair was bedraggled and far messier than it ordinarily was. The Professor's eyes were red and tired, and he squinted at Ash for a few seconds before recognizing him.

"Oh, hello, Ash!" Oak exclaimed. He stood up a little straighter and a grin stretched across his tan face. "It's been a long time. How is your journey coming along?"

Ash grinned. "Great! I've already got five badges and I'm heading to Cinnabar for my sixth."

"I'm impressed." Oak commented. "Your mother told me how far you'd gotten, but I'm afraid that I forgot. What are you doing in the Seafoam Islands? Do you need something?"

He nodded. "I took a zubat from a Team Rocket grunt. It was taken away for rehabilitation. Do you know where I could find it? I'm heading into the Seafoam Caverns and I want something that could help me navigate."

Oak's grin faded with Ash's news. "I heard about the St. Anne. I'm sorry you had to go through that."

Ash grunted, not wanting to discuss it. Oak seemed to understand the signal and continued, his tone becoming lighter as he moved away from the grim subject.

"Anyways, I've actually been holding that zubat for you." Oak said, leaning onto the table that held the screen. "The League sent it over just under two weeks ago. She's in good shape, but be careful with her. The zubat is terrified of everything. She'll do whatever job you need done, though. Give me just a minute to send her over."

Ash thanked the Professor and found a comfortable seat to wait in while Oak prepared to send his zubat over. He was a bit worried that the zubat wouldn't be able to function well if she was as timid as Oak claimed, but supposed that she would still be a better choice to have in a cave than Plume.

That was when Ash realized that he would have to send Plume's pokeball over if he wanted to use Zubat. Trainers that had more than six pokemon on them had their seventh locked until their ID was given authorization to have more, which only occurred when the trainer proved themselves powerful and responsible enough to care for the additional pokemon.

He pulled Plume's pokeball off of his belt and released her. Plume squawked out a greeting as she was released and gently pecked his bag. She scanned the small, brightly lit room in confusion before cocking her head and looking up at him.

"Hey, Plume." He said with a grin, although he felt a bit of guilt at leaving her behind, no matter the reasons or logic in doing so. She lightly chirped. "I'm about to explore a cave. It's full of ice-types, and I'm afraid you're going to get hurt."

Plume shook her head and shrieked in an attempt to convince him otherwise. Ash felt the guilt grow more, and he found himself kneeling in front of her.

"Look, I'm going to have to send you to the Oak Corral. It's only for a few days, and I promise I'll get you back the second I can." Ash said with a pained look on his face. "I really don't want to, but you won't be able to fight well against the pokemon we'll be fighting. I just don't want you to get hurt."

The pidgeot turned her head away from Ash, trying to ignore him. Ash continued to apologize until she finally looked at him again, although it was clear that she was insulted. He sighed and tried to stroke her head. Plume grudgingly allowed it, although she refused to look at him while he did so.

Professor Oak finally arrived, a plain pokeball in hand. Ash sighed and stood up.

"Just put your pokeball in the transfer machine and they will trade places." Oak explained. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of your pidgeot."

Ash tensely smiled and stood up. "I'll get you back as soon as I can." He promised Plume. She just looked at him stonily. "Bye."

He recalled Plume and felt a hard pang in his chest as he placed the pokeball of his second friend into the transfer machine. It glowed for a moment before disappearing, replaced by Zubat's pokeball. Ash noticed that there was a lump in his throat as he took the new pokeball and examined it.

It had no markings, and was completely indistinguishable from any other. Ash sighed and put it onto his belt. He wish he had another spot to put it. There was just something wrong about putting it in Plume's spot.

"Thanks." He said to Professor Oak. The older man just smiled and nodded, although his face grew a bit more serious.

"Be careful in the Caverns." Oak warned. "I explored them once in my youth. I have confidence in you, but they are treacherous and the wild pokemon are more aggressive during the Ice Time. Try to avoid the deeper levels, and good luck."

Ash nodded his thanks and prepared to leave. Before he cut the connection, however, he had one last thing to say to Oak. "Hey, Professor, could you tell my mom I said hi? I don't think I'll be able to call her a while."

The Professor smiled. "Of course. She's coming over for lunch later. I'll tell her then. Stay safe, Ash."

He smiled at the Professor. "I will. Bye, Professor."

Ash cut the connection. He smiled at the blank screen before turning around. The pangs in his chest at leaving Plume were slowly weakening, although he was sure that he wouldn't forget his friend. He looked at Zubat's pokeball once more before leaving the room. It was time to get on with his journey.

XX

A Nurse Joy smiled at him as he approached the counter. She was tanner than the Nurse Joys he had seen elsewhere and her uniform was also thinner and less restrictive. An assistant and a chansey stood next to her, but the assistant was speaking to another trainer.

"How may I help you?" She asked. Ash noticed that she had a different accent than the ones on the mainland. It was a bit sharper and caused her to speak noticeably faster.

"I was told that I needed to tell you if I wanted to go into the Caverns." Ash replied. Nurse Joy frowned and leaned forward, casually resting on the counter.

"I can't let you enter the Caverns right now unless you have more than three badges or can defeat my friend here." Nurse Joy said, nodding at the tall trainer speaking to the assistant. The man grinned and looked at Ash, baring his teeth. "The Caverns are dangerous during the Ice Time, and I need to know that you won't be getting yourself killed."

Ash grinned and withdrew his pokedex. He quickly went to the section that held his trainer ID and showed it to Nurse Joy, revealing to her that he had five badges. She sighed.

"I guess I can't stop you. But be careful," she warned, "right now the pokemon in there will be much stronger than they are normally. They are dangerous, far more so than the average pokemon that you have come across. Some will be aggressive, and all will be more than ready to fight you off. Make sure you buy more than enough supplies – the Caverns can be treacherous. Try to leave markers so that you can find your way out."

He nodded his understanding and his thanks. Nurse Joy sighed again and pulled a small ticket from her pocket.

"By taking this you understand and accept that the Pokemon League of Kanto is not responsible for your safety for however long you stay in the Seafoam Caverns." Nurse Joy said in an official monotone. "You understand the risks that you are taking and agree not to blame the Pokemon League of Kanto should you be injured in the exploration of the Seafoam Caverns."

Ash took it without hesitation and thanked Nurse Joy again. She looked towards the tall, fierce looking trainer that was talking to the assistant as Ash left. "You'd better head to the entrance. He doesn't look like he'll wait long."

Before he exited, he heard Nurse Joy speak to the trainer again. "I really hope he's not one of the unlucky ones. We need to get the badge limit raised – we get too many cocky young trainers that get trapped and lost in those caves."

He ignored the comment and headed to the marketplace that he had seen a little past the Pokemon Center. It wasn't very big, but it looked to have all of the necessary equipment that he would need from the quick glance he took at it.

When he got to the small market, it was packed. There were several dozen vendors, all hawking their wares at small booths for high prices. Ash was jostled and shoved around as people bustled through the market, but managed to find his way to someone who sold the equipment he would need.

"How may I help you?" The somewhat overweight man asked Ash as he approached. He had the same accent as Nurse Joy, although it was much thicker. "I offer everything any trainer could ever need in order to brave the dangerous Caverns: heavy coats, rope, ice heals, gloves – you name it!"

Ash nodded at him and looked around. The booth was small, but filled to bursting with plenty of things. He found several things that he wanted over the next few minutes. Although the vendor's hawkish eyes made Ash feel a little awkward, he found a thick coat, equally thick gloves, and several of the ice heals – potions modified to quickly warm pokemon – as well as a thick coil of rope and a small ice pick. He already had plenty of potions, pokeballs, and revives.

"How much is this?" Ash asked, his voice slightly muffled behind the stack of items he was carrying. The vendor quickly glanced over the items before responding.

"That would be four hundred and eighty seven." The fat man grinned, apparently quite glad that Ash had purchased so much. Ash sighed at the high price and forked the necessary bills over. "Thanks for your business, kid. Have fun in the Caverns."

"Thanks." He muttered before transferring most of the equipment into the storage compartments in his pack. His pack implemented similar technology to that of the pokeball – although he kept important things like his sleeping mat, a pokeball, and other necessities ready for access at all times, everything else could be transferred into the three storage compartments. They didn't have infinite space, but it let him carry much more than he normally could.

With that, Ash left the bustling market and retreated to a more isolated spot in the wide, open streets. He leaned against a wall as he looked at the small ticket that Nurse Joy had handed him. It was slightly crumpled from being shoved into his pocket, but was readable.

The ticket gave him instructions to the entrance as well as giving him permission to enter. Its instructions were fairly simplistic – it gave him a list of roads to take and where to go after that. Apparently the entrance was somewhat hidden in order to dissuade people that weren't strong enough to enter from finding it.

Ash carefully folded the ticket before beginning to follow the instructions, keeping it ready as a method of reference. He wasn't always the best at following directions, but it wouldn't take him too long to find his way. It was a pretty small island, after all. Besides, he had great motivation to do so.

XX

His trip across the small island took him far away from the small town that dominated the east coast and through the wild part of the island. After thirty minutes he had left even the roads behind, and another thirty minutes later he had made his way through the light foliage and reached the western coast of the island.

The island was beautiful. Despite the chilly weather and strong winds, the vegetation was still lush and green. Ash had to admit that he liked the coast more, however. Even if it was next to the ocean it was a majestic sight. Tall, jagged towers of rocks guarded the coastline, and the beaches were full of herds of slowpoke. He only encountered one group of trainers, all of whom had pale skin and wild eyes. They didn't speak to him and barely acknowledge his existence as they passed him by.

It only took a few more minutes to find the massive beach that held the hidden entrance to the Caverns. The beach took up almost the entire length of the western coast, periodically dotted with large clusters of stones. Ash released Nidorino as he entered it. The island's forests might have few wild pokemon, but the beaches were full of coastal pokemon. He didn't want to be caught off guard.

He was thankful that they weren't aggressive. The few slowbro that led the herds watched him with slightly more awareness than their slowpoke brethren, but made no move against him. The slowpoke only watched him dumbly – when they realized that he was there at all, that is.

Ash followed the beach until he found a large hill of weathered stone. He recognized it as the entrance to the caverns and casually walked to it, easily stepping over a lone slowpoke that was belly-up in the coarse grey sand. It was apparently involved in a staring contest with a particularly large boulder.

Soon enough he found the area where the stone began to form a sort of funnel. He stepped into it, but a light cough distracted him. Ash nervously snapped towards the source of the sound, but relaxed when he saw that it was the tall trainer from the Pokemon Center.

"Hey, wait up!" The trainer said as he stood up from a long, flat stone bench and walked towards Ash. "I've got to take that ticket. Your name's Ash Ketchum, right?"

Ash nodded and handed the ticket over to the man. The trainer looked Ash over for a moment before speaking.

"My name's Will. Anyways, I'm just here to give you a few tips before you go into the Caverns." Will said easily, leaning against the tall wall of stone. Ash listened attentively.

"Rule number one: keep warm. I can't tell you how many people have gotten frostbite from that cave. Some people die. Rule number two: be prepared at all times. This is the Ice Time, and every pokemon in those caves is powerful, aggressive, and mean right now. Ice-types are going to be in the higher levels, and they can take out your pokemon in a hurry if you aren't careful."

Will frowned. "You should know the other rules. They're common sense. Leave markers, leave when your supplies get low, don't antagonize wild pokemon. None will try to injure or kill you unless you do something that means you deserve it, but they'll do their best to drive you out. Stay in the upper levels if you can, and be careful."

"Thanks." Ash said, making sure to burn those tips into his brain. He didn't want him or his friends to get hurt.

The older trainer sighed. "Just be careful. Those Caverns are dangerous this time of year, and I don't want to have to call your family if something happens to you. Anyways, good luck."

"I will." Ash promised. "And thanks."

"Don't mention it." Will said, waving his thanks off. "Anyways, have fun. I'm out."

With that the older trainer left the small stone funnel and began the long trek back to the town. Ash watched his retreating back for a moment before withdrawing his coat and gloves and getting the rest of his supplies ready.

He looked down at Nidorino, glad that his friend was a good choice to go into the Caverns with. His friend might be a native of forests and plains, but he was more than tough enough to take whatever this Cavern threw at them.

Ash had a grin on his face as he and Nidorino walked further into the stone funnel. This would be the greatest challenge he had faced yet, and he couldn't wait to conquer it.

XX

His first thoughts as he entered the Caverns proper mainly revolved around the fact that he should have bought another coat. The air was freezing, and he immediately felt the icy air chill his bones. Ash just stood still for a second and got slightly used to the cold temperature.

Nidorino fared much better. Pokemon were naturally resistant to all sorts of things that humans couldn't take, but Ash hadn't expected Nidorino to seem as though he were barely chilly. His friend was casually sitting next to his foot, more than ready to protect him. The cold didn't even faze the pink creature.

Ash's teeth chattered a bit and he couldn't focus for another minute. He slowly adjusted to the temperature, only aware of Nidorino patiently waiting for him to toughen up. When he was finally ready to continue and had quashed the desire to leave this forsaken, freezing cave and retreat to the gloriously hot – relatively – air outside, he looked around.

The cave was much larger than he had expected. It wasn't cramped or a tunnel like Mt. Moon, but was actually a cavern – the stone roof raised high into the air, and he could see a few rays of sunlight shining down through holes in the thick roof. Ash almost felt guilty now – Plume would have plenty of room to fly, although he realized that the bitter cold would harm her much worse than any of his other friends.

He pushed the thoughts out of his mind. Ash couldn't do anything about that, and he could at least make a new friend while Plume was being pampered at the Oak Corral. Speaking of his newest partner, Ash pulled the pokeball off of his belt and got ready to release Zubat.

"Be nice." He told Nidorino as he reached into the pack, withdrawing some of the pokemon food he bought. "This is that pokemon we got off of the…the grunt. She's apparently terrified of everything, and I don't want to scare her."

Nidorino grunted and caused his barbs to recede. The poison that had been dripping off of them was quickly absorbed into his friend's skin, leaving no trace of it. Ash smiled at the diminutive stance his friend took, the powerful, aggressive posture receding. His friend almost looked like an abnormally large Nidoran.

He released Zubat. It was tiny, but its long, thin legs made it look slightly larger. Its purple wings doubled its size, and its ears were as large as its body. Ash saw it helplessly land on the cold ground, apparently able to ignore the freezing stone. Zubat opened its mouth, showing four small fangs and shrieked. A second later it froze tensed up, ready to fly away. He guessed that it had seen him with its echolocation.

"Shh." He said, kneeling to the ground. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Zubat looked no different. Ash slowly inched closer to it, hands up in a placating position. The pokemon might not be able to actually see him, but hopefully it would understand what he was doing. He stopped moving closer when Zubat bared her fangs, doing her best to appear intimidating.

"Look, do you want some food?" He asked slowly, trying to soothe the frightened pokemon. "I know you must be hungry."

He smiled when Zubat slowly crawled over using the tiny hooks at the end of its wings. The pokemon was extremely cautious and looked ready to flee at any instant, so Ash set the food down and backed away a little. Since Zubat didn't seem bothered by the cold, he assumed that the dry food being set on the stone floor wouldn't be a problem.

When Zubat gingerly began to chew on the small pellets, crushing it with its small fangs before gulping it down. Ash let Zubat become comfortable eating before talking to the tiny bat.

"See?" He said. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to be your friend."

Zubat froze and looked at him with a cocked head. It relaxed a moment later and returned to eating the food. Ash got the feeling that it was about to try and flee.

"Look, if you want to go back to the Oak Corral, I'll let you. I understand that Team Rocket did some pretty bad things, but I just want to be your friend."

The pokemon finished the dry food before looking up and cocking her head. Ash patiently waited. Nidorino just stayed still.

Finally, Zubat slowly made her way over to him. It was cautious and Ash could tell that she didn't quite trust him yet, but it was a start. At least she felt somewhat safe around him.

He slowly raised a hand and tried to pet Zubat. She shrank back, but didn't try to flee as he gently petted his newest partner. Eventually she relaxed and leaned into his gloved hand, causing Ash to smile.

"Hey, do you mind helping me with something?" He asked. Zubat cocked her head and looked up at him oddly, her ears twitching. "We're in a cave system, and I think I'll need your help to navigate in some areas. I won't ask you to battle, but could you help me out when I need it?"

Zubat nodded. Ash grinned and scratched behind her ears. "Thanks."

That got one problem out of the way. He didn't have a permanent light-source aside from Infernus, and he didn't want to keep his most temperamental friend out in this cold for very long. While Infernus could take it, Ash remembered that magmar had a habit of trying to heat up cold surroundings. Additionally, the fire-type would be slow and sluggish in this environment.

He scratched Zubat's ears one last time before telling her that he was about to put her back in the pokeball. Zubat didn't seem to mind, so he went ahead and did it. While he didn't ordinarily tell his pokemon when he was recalling them, he figured it would be best to do so with the timid Zubat.

When Zubat was back inside her pokeball, Ash stood up and looked around the cavern. Most of it was stone, but in the center a large, thick layer of ice bridged the cavern. Ash looked at it with distrusting eyes. He definitely wouldn't be walking over it.

Ash spotted a large opening in the stone wall on the other side of the cave. It looked as though it would take him deep into the cave system. He looked over at Nidorino and nodded towards it. "Let's go."

He was glad to get moving. It helped to keep some of the cold at bay and let him think about something besides the unpleasant temperature.

The walk over to the gaping opening only took a minute. Although he was careful to avoid the sections of the floor slick with ice, this area seemed to be quite dry. Ash knew that he would not be so lucky on the lower areas.

Ash glanced down the dark tunnel and released Infernus. He didn't want to be going blind into the cave and wanted to save the small lantern he had bought for a more desperate time. If everything went to plan, he would be in the Caverns for three or four days before leaving. Something was sure to go wrong in that amount of time, so the lantern would be a last resort.

Infernus didn't roar when he was released, and seemed far more subdued than usual. He looked at Ash with an annoyed look and blasted a small spurt of flame after a moment, temporarily warming the area.

"Sorry." Ash said. Infernus slowly nodded, the cold already beginning to slow him down and weaken his body. "But I need you to light the way through that tunnel. I promise that I won't call you out anymore unless I really need you for something."

The magmar seemed far more happy about staying in his pokeball than he had before. Ash figured this would be the only time that Infernus wouldn't mind staying out of battles.

Infernus groggily stepped forward into the tunnel, a little unsteady. He grew more comfortable as he continued, but slowed down. Ash followed right behind him, although he gave Infernus plenty of room to swish his tail.

Suddenly, Nidorino growled. Ash looked down at his friend curiously and saw that Nidorino was staring up and was baring his fangs. He felt his body tense as he looked up at the cave ceiling, paling when he saw that there was a gigantic mass of small, furry bodies huddled together on the stone.

He had walked straight into a huge number of zubat. They didn't seem to be aggressive, but it was the fact that they were right there and he hadn't noticed them that mattered. Ash got ready to run down the tunnel, but a large bat that fell out of the midst and landed on the floor blocked him. It was a golbat, and it was hissing at him.

Ash's desire to run faded. If the golbat wanted a fight, it would get one. He knew that his friends could take on this entire colony. It would be difficult, but they could do it. Numbers didn't mean much in a confined area and a massive flamethrower.

Golbat stretched its huge wings out and menacingly stepped towards Ash in an odd sort of stumble, but the fangs kept Ash from being scornful. Then Nidorino growled and stepped forward, squaring himself and preparing for battle. Infernus did so as well, despite his sluggishness and the cold that weakened him. Ash felt a momentary burst of pride and happiness over how loyal his friends were.

It stumbled back a little and hissed again, but Infernus stamping his foot and flaring up seemed to make the golbat realize that fighting them wouldn't be a good idea. Golbat hissed at them one more time and flew up to the ceiling, taking its place in the mass of zubat huddled together for warmth.

Ash grinned at his friends. "Thanks." He hoped that they could solve most of their disputes like that. While his pokemon were strong, they couldn't take a dozen battles with the hundreds of zubat and golbat that probably lived in these Caverns.

Nidorino grunted in reply and Infernus just let the flames he had ignited die down. Ash felt a stab of pity for the fire-type, who looked positively miserable at the moment, but knew that he needed Infernus' help.

So they continued, Ash making sure to keep the pace up. Hopefully it would keep Infernus from cooling off too much and would let Ash return him sooner.

It only took a few more minutes for them to emerge from the dark tunnel and into a huge cavern that positively dwarfed the opening one. Ash could see that huge holes in the ceiling illuminated most of the cavern. While it was still quite dark, he was able to see well enough.

Ash looked around a bit more, looking for a route through. Most of this room was ice, but a few rushing currents seemed to be too powerful for ice to form on them. He saw the odd zubat flying around, but they seemed few and far between. Every now and then he saw a glimpse of another pokemon moving in the darkness, although he judged that most either had homes to keep them warm or were able to survive underneath the ice.

He turned back to Nidorino. "Well, this looks like it'll take a while. Let's get going."

Nidorino growled in approval and followed Ash as he set off to explore the area.

XX

He eventually got used to the cold. Ash didn't ignore it, and the icy bite made his hands and toes painfully cold, while a light ache all over his body kept him wary of the weather. If it weren't for his heavy coat and gloves, he was sure that he would have had to leave the freezing cave system. As it was, he knew that he was underprepared.

Infernus saved him many times. Few golbat or zubat were willing to antagonize the fierce, powerful fire-type, although the ones that did were quickly defeated. His most valuable function was to use his immense power to heat the air around Ash and his high body temperature helped to keep Ash from freezing. Ash released him every hour or so.

Nidorino had eventually been worn down from the intense cold, although he had more of a resistance to it than Ash did. The constant battles with aggressive wild pokemon such as seel, krabby, and staryu eventually caused Ash to recall him.

The pokemon in this cave were just as aggressive as he had been warned. Although he had an easy time with them – they were unusually powerful, particularly for how young they seemed, but had no sense of tactics aside from ambushing and then attacking him – he knew that they were just the beginning. He had only had one battle with an evolved pokemon so far – a huge, vicious dewgong that had burst out of the ice and tried to blast them with an ice beam – but it had been horribly difficult. It had taken Brute to finally take it down, although the dewgong swam away before Ash could try to capture it.

Torrent loved this cave. As a water-type, he was highly resistant to ice, even though he couldn't stay in it for extended periods of time. But these Caverns were his chance to shine, and the seadra had taken full advantage of the fact. Ash was using him the most thanks to the plentiful supply of lakes – some of them hadn't frozen over for some reason, although they were littered with chunks of ice – and Torrent had quickly begun to fight off and intimidate even the most aggressive of the weaker pokemon.

Bruiser was his main pokemon for land. Ash figured that the fighter needed more experience, and the fighter was surprisingly durable against the cold and effective against pokemon that attacked him on the land such as a surprisingly enraged slowpoke, several moderately powerful psyduck, and the krabby that seemed to be everywhere.

Dazed only saw a little bit of use – just to hypnotize the more powerful pokemon or to knock any attacking colonies of zubat out with a single psychic attack – and she seemed more than happy to stay in her pokeball. Her species lived in temperate or warm areas, not icebergs.

Zubat saw a surprising amount of use. He didn't dare use her in battles – she would probably try to fly away or hide behind him – but she served well as a scout and was able to guide him through particularly tricky areas. She saved him a lot of trouble with both the environment and with other zubat. They seemed more content to remain huddled together and warm when they saw her with him. Ash still hadn't nicknamed her, though. Zubat still seemed a little nervous around him.

He had begun to cycle his pokemon out over the two days he had been traversing the Caverns, going deeper and deeper into them. None were out too long, since the strengthening cold was draining even for them. Ash wasn't sure how much deeper he could possibly go – he had gone steadily deeper into the earth the entire time, and soon the cold would become so powerful that he would be forced back.

Ash still had plenty of rations, however. He didn't need that much food, and neither did his pokemon. They'd gotten used to not having quite as much as they'd like during his travels, although Ash made sure that they all had enough to be comfortable. The team needed to be in great condition in such a dangerous area.

The trainer had gotten lost several times, sometimes losing several hours before Zubat and luck set him back on the right track. He had remembered the tips given to him and had Nidorino frequently gouge huge carvings into the stone walls with his incredibly sharp and powerful horn. Ash hoped that would be enough, although he was doing his best to memorize every section of the immense cave system as he travelled through it.

As of now, he was in a particularly confusing area of the cave. Zubat was clutching to his back, lightly jabbing him with a claw in order to direct him through the proper route and Bruiser plodded along behind him, the tunnel to thin for them to walk side by side. He hated these areas – sending Zubat ahead to discover the safe way made it simpler, but the fact that anything could be waiting on the other side of a curve made him anxious.

He sighed in relief when they finally emerged from the tunnels, which were lit by his small lamp. Ash carefully turned the lamp off and placed it back into the storage compartment before continuing out of the tunnel.

The trainer's eyes widened in surprise when he stepped into the cavern. In itself, the large room wasn't particularly impressive. What was impressive was the fact that a huge number of psyduck congregating in it, practically filling the entire room. He estimated that there were around thirty.

This wouldn't be so surprising anywhere else. Psyduck always congregated in large groups, usually led by a golduck. Safety in numbers and whatnot – they were practically defenseless on their own if their headaches peaked. While they would exhibit powerful psychic abilities during such a time, they were in so much pain that they were unable to react to other danger.

He just didn't think that they would do the same in an environment like the Seafoam Caverns. The only psyduck he had seen in the Caverns were in small groups of three or four, so he'd assumed that it was the standard.

They didn't react to his presence – most stared into space with a vacant expression eerily similar to Dazed's. Ash ignored that little tidbit and looked towards Bruiser. His friend nodded and stepped forward, ready to protect Ash if the psyduck tried anything.

Ash also got ready to release all of his pokemon. While psyduck weren't very dangerous, all of the ones he had encountered in the Caverns were far more powerful than their mainland counterparts. In such a large group, they could be very dangerous.

Unfortunately, he couldn't turn back. He had upset quite a few seel when he passed by earlier, and he had heard them calling for reinforcements. Ash wasn't sure that they wouldn't try to hurt him when he went back – they had been furious, far from the usual for the normally docile seal.

He tried to creep around the large group, who took up the entire center and only left the edge for him to move in. Once or twice one of the pained psyduck walked into him, knocking them down. Those incidents made Ash hold his breath and get ready for the fight of his life, but the psyduck didn't seem to notice. Instead they just looked at themselves in confusion, quacking a few times as they wondered why they were on the ground.

Ice crunched underneath Ash's shoes as he moved around the flock of psyduck, but they didn't attract attention. Ash thought that he and Bruiser would get out unscathed when a loud, angry cry alerted him to a new danger.

He nervously turned and was faced with a golduck stalking towards him, red eyes burning with rage and claws outstretched. It cried out again and faced Bruiser, who matched its stance. Zubat clutched harder onto his back. Ash winced a bit as her sharp claws jabbed his skin, but he ignored it as best he could. He had bigger things to worry about.

Before the battle began, Ash took notice of the golduck's appearance. It was smaller than most of its kind, but was still dangerous. Instead of the small bulk that most golduck needed to battle each other, this one was lithe and thin looking. Nevertheless, Ash could still see the powerful muscles working beneath the feathers that were so thin and small that they looked like flesh.

It was blue, and had webbed hands and feet. Golduck had small claws, but they looked extremely sharp. A long tail emerged from its rear for swimming, and overall its body was extremely hydrodynamic. The duck cried out at him again before it suddenly focused on Bruiser with glowing eyes, alit with psychic power.

Ash immediately recalled Bruiser, sending out Dazed instead. Bruiser had no chance against a psychic attack, not with the kind of cold they were facing. Dazed looked at him in annoyance when she felt the cold, but quickly returned her focus to Golduck.

He took one of his ultra balls from his pack. Ash wanted to catch a pokemon while he was in the Caverns, and this golduck seemed more than powerful enough to make a good addition to his team. The dewgong had been his first choice – it had knocked out half of his team – but the golduck would be just as good.

Dazed prepared herself as Golduck used some sort of psychic attack on her. Ash grinned as she casually dispersed the attack into nothingness, her psychic powers far too formidable for Golduck to stand against. She leveled a cold glare at Golduck, her eyes glowing in preparation.

"Hypnosis." He ordered, his blood beginning to pump and make him forget the cold. Dazed began to slowly wave her pendulum, opting to use her natural abilities instead of the skill itself. Her natural abilities worked more quickly than the skill did, but could be disrupted if the victim had a strong enough will to close its eyes.

Her pendulum rocked through the air, attracting Golduck's attention with every swing. Ash smiled as he saw the power it gave her. Dazed had left him for a few minutes yesterday as he set up camp, and when she emerged she held the pendulum in her hand. She showed it to him, and he was able to tell it was made from the weathered stone of the Cavern.

He thought that this fight would be over before it began, but Golduck managed to break Dazed's spell and attack with a blast of water. Ash recognized it as a hydro pump.

"Disable!" He ordered, wanting to make sure Golduck didn't have access to its attacks. Water and ice-type moves seemed more powerful than they normally were in these Caverns. Ash couldn't let Golduck keep using the amplified power.

Dazed resolutely took the attack, using her power to direct some of it around her. Ash could still see that it hurt her, but the effect was dampened somewhat by her barrier. She held her own and quickly focused her power. Dazed's eyes glowed bright as she enveloped Golduck in a blue aura. Golduck froze, unable to do anything for a short amount of time.

Disable wasn't a move Ash had used often. He'd used it a few times against trainers with devastatingly powerful pokemon, but normally he was able to either overpower them or outmaneuver them. It locked them in place in its basic form, and Ash heard that at its more advanced stages it was able to make a pokemon forget its moves for a while as well as immobilizing it.

"Hypnosis." He repeated. Dazed quickly took advantage of her opponent's helplessness, lulling Golduck to sleep with her swaying pendulum. Ash grinned when he saw Golduck's eyes slowly droop before shutting altogether.

When Golduck collapsed to the ground, the psychic energy of the disable no longer suffusing his body, Ash carefully threw the ultra ball at it. He realized that this was the first time that he would ever use one of the powerful tools, despite the fact that he had received them nearly two months ago.

The ball hit Golduck once before transferring the water-type into it. Ash watched with held breath as the powerful ball rolled around. Apparently Golduck didn't want to be caught. He suspected the struggle would be much more frantic had Golduck been awake when it was captured.

"Get ready ." He said to Dazed. Thankfully, their caution proved to be unnecessary. The ultra ball proved to be too powerful for Golduck, and it shuddered for a moment before glowing. A moment later it had been transferred to the Oak Corral.

It was then that Ash remembered the psyduck. He had ignored the catatonic creatures for the battle – they wouldn't pose a threat unless he directly attacked them – but now realized that some of them were beginning to stir. Two were already up and staring at Ash with blank eyes that seemed to have just a bit of malice in them. Ash knew that psyduck weren't as stupid as they seemed, and felt a little nervous.

"Zubat, let's go. Dazed, good job. You did great."

Dazed turned around and seemed to smile at him with her sleepy eyes before he returned her. He quickly edged into the small, jagged opening of the tunnel behind him, watching the psyduck all the while. More were beginning to stand up, and he was rather glad the exit was so close. None followed him, although several psyduck's eyes were beginning to glow a bright blue.

He quickly retreated into the dark tunnel, ignoring the fact that it was even more freezing than the psyduck room. At least that had been warmed a bit by the flock's body heat. This tunnel was safe, but it brought the deep chill in his bones back. His adrenaline was beginning to fade.

Once he was far enough in, he let Zubat leap off of his back and begin to look around. He heard her shriek a few times in order to use her echolocation. Since he didn't feel her slam onto his back in order to hide, he assumed that there wasn't anything else in the cave.

Ash released Infernus when he had made sure there was enough room. He leaned against one of the wet cave walls as his friend was released, bringing heat back into his body. Infernus growled and swished his flaming tail around, quickly heating the air up.

He nodded at his friend, sorry that Infernus had to suffer but glad that he was here. "Thanks, Infernus."

Infernus gave a deep rumble from his chest in response, making all of his flames flare up a bit before relaxing. The magmar liked these tunnels more than the caverns, Ash had noticed. They heated up faster, making it better for both of them.

When he noticed that Infernus was beginning to tire, Ash returned him. He was going to give Infernus whatever he wanted when they got out of these caverns. The fire-type had made all of this possible.

Ash gladly relaxed in the warm air for a while. He noticed that it dissipated unusually fast, but chalked it up to being in the bottom of a huge cave system. There couldn't be much more to go before he hit the bottom. The trainer only had one day to travel before he had to make his way back up, and he dearly hoped that he would be able to reach the bottom level.

Zubat landed on his back, apparently done scouting. Ash smiled and let her lead him through the darkness, avoiding anything that might make him trip or fall. He might be miserable and cold right now, but he thought that this was worth it.

He stepped forward, beginning his journey to the bottom of the cave.

XX

Ash had thought that the pokemon on the upper levels were powerful. They were, especially for their age, but they didn't hold a candle to the monsters that lurked on the bottom levels.

A single dewgong knocked out Nidorino, Dazed, and Bruiser. It was only through Torrent's sheer ferocity and protectiveness that it was fought back, and even then they only managed to fight it off. Ash quickly revived his friends and fled the area, knowing that he was too close to his goal to leave now.

He got into several more battles, all just as heated as the first one. Ash and his friends quickly adapted to fighting the pokemon, relying on Dazed's psychic techniques to weaken and render the powerful creatures that attacked them without hesitance helpless and then focusing all of their attack power on it. They had defeated massive dewgong, kingler, and golduck with the strategy. All of them had become much tougher thanks to the intense cold and powerful pokemon.

Ash did notice that the golbat and zubat colonies were nowhere near as aggressive or powerful as the water or ice-types. They would generally shy away from Ash, and when they did attack they were easily dispatched.

The trainer was thankful for that – he didn't know how well they could protect themselves from an entire colony of empowered zubat and golbat.

Even as the pokemon increased in power, the terrain did in difficulty. The upper levels had hardly been a breeze, but they were neither as cold nor filled with dangerous obstacles. Ash had been forced to find alternative ways to get to the small, jagged outcroppings of rock and islands that let him continue. Torrent just wasn't powerful enough to force his way through the strong currents with Ash on his back.

Despite the difficulty, Ash continued. He was still fine on rations, and his pokemon were tough enough to keep on going. Ash wasn't sure why he was so concerned with reaching the bottom of the cave system, but supposed it was just another challenge. It was part of his personality to seek out the greatest challenges he could and overcome them, so perhaps that was it.

Right now he was taking a break on a particularly large island that had small holes and thin, cracked ice everywhere. It was only a few hundred feet from the next area, but he wanted to take a break before continuing. Nidorino was huddled up to him and serving as a sentry. Ash had seen a few cloyster hanging around the shores earlier, so he wanted to be ready. His team hadn't fought a cloyster before, so he had been thinking of strategies to battle one.

Infernus wouldn't do much unless his flames managed to heat up the insides of their shells. Nidorino could freeze them or send lightning coursing through the shells, or else he could just have his friend test and see just how strong his horn was. Dazed could probably force them away or give Ash time to escape. Bruiser could probably pry them open or push them away.

Then he heard something he had come to dread: the mournful cry of a dewgong. He instantly shot up, but felt the little blood left in his face drain away. Ash quickly released Dazed and Bruiser.

Ash heard the call again, but this time he heard another one crying out in response. He felt the strong urge to curse and snapped his attention towards the returning call. The trainer tensed up and prepared to run.

A positively gigantic dewgong was pulling itself up onto the island. No dewgong was small, but the ones in the Caverns dwarfed the average one. Ash gritted his teeth when he saw it begin to pull itself towards them. Three seel followed it. They were probably its pups.

Then he heard the distinctive sound of an ice beam. Ash dropped to the ground and saw a beam of cold energy pass over where he had been. He shivered as the icy air hit him, but got ready to command his pokemon.

That's when he realized that three more dewgong, almost as large as the first, had appeared. They also appeared to be very angry and very powerful. Each was surrounded by at least one seel pup that innocently followed its parent. Ash grimaced – mothers were always the most dangerous.

Combined with the fact that he could barely take one of these things down, Ash realized that this wouldn't be a victory for him. All that could happen was that either he or his friends would be hurt.

So he returned all of his friends, frantically shoved the pokeballs into his pack, and took off towards the entrance into the deeper level of the caverns. His legs, tired from the climbing, travel, and cold, felt like lead as he sprinted, but he managed to make it to the oddly smooth, ice entrance.

The wind was painfully cold against his face and left the sensation of needles when he finally stopped. He was completely winded from his short sprint and his lungs screamed at him for putting them through that. Ash only paused in his wheezing to glance behind him. The dewgong hadn't bothered following him. It looked as though they didn't think he was worth the effort.

Ash just rested for a few minutes, only pausing to release Infernus. His friend knew the process by now and set to warming the area up, slowly restoring feeling to Ash's body. He didn't know how long they stood there, but by the end he felt almost normal again.

"Thanks." He told his friend. Infernus just beat his tail around and nodded before Ash recalled him. His friend looked completely miserable by the end, despite warming up the area. Afterwards, Ash released Nidorino.

Nidorino looked him over to make sure he was fine before butting his head against Ash's cold leg. Ash smiled. "Good to see you too, buddy. I think this is the last chamber. Are you ready to go?"

His friend growled and nodded in response. Ash smiled and looked around. They were in a hall of ice, which was curiously reflecting some unseen light. He was confused by the fact that the heat Infernus had generated was already gone, as well as that the ice hadn't even begun to melt.

He frowned, but had to appreciate the sight. Despite how cold it was – he was already feeling his extremities tingling – it was majestic. Ash shook his head and walked down the hallway, wondering where it would take him. It almost didn't seem natural – the hallway's walls were smooth ice, although the floor was the ordinary weathered stone he had grown used to.

Ash's frown grew, but he began the walk down the long hallway. It went down as long as he could see, which gave him more evidence that this wasn't altogether natural.

The two walked down for several minutes before seeing the end of the tunnel. It shone with the dim light that seemed to pervade each of the caverns. Ash didn't bother looking at it again for a while – he was too busy staring at the seemingly sculpted ice walls. They seemed to release thin wisps of cold mist, although it quickly diffused into the air.

Eventually they reached the end. When Ash stepped through, his breath was stolen. Not from any shock – he couldn't see anything yet – but due to the fact that it was so crushingly cold. It made the room that he had just come from seem positively warm.

Despite the brutal cold, Ash continued. It wasn't as though he could go backwards. Not when those dewgong were riled up and hunting him. He glanced down at Nidorino to see how he was doing. Nidorino was shivering, but wouldn't let Ash see any more than that.

He walked out onto the edge of a huge cliff. Ash was careful – slick ice completely covered the ground – as he moved closer to the edge and looked out over the room.

It was massive, far beyond anything he had ever seen before. While no larger around than any of the other main caverns, the cave opened up all the way to the sky, which appeared high up in the air. Ash could actually see the sky for the first time in days. He stared at it with glee for a few moments before the cold snapped him back to reality.

He looked down, expecting to see the standard setup of the caverns: thick coverings of ice with a few rocky crags. What he saw was far different.

There was no water. Only a massive sheet of ice that was so thick that it appeared completely flat – not even the huge islands or spikes were visible. A single small doorway down on the icy field to his right looked to be an exit, something that he had wished for for days. But that wasn't what grabbed his attention.

Ash saw a huge, upraised sort of structure. It was open, but it had steps leading up to it from the ice that were painstakingly carved from the ancient, tough stone. They were covered in ice that appeared blindingly bright thanks to the sun's rays. The structure seemed to be a sort of shrine, albeit one covered with frost and partially hidden by swirling, icy mist.

The structure was impressive and positively huge, but even that wasn't what grabbed his attention.

A creature slept on the shrine. It was covered in a swirling shell of pale mist, hiding all but its form from Ash's view, but from what Ash could discern it appeared to be a bird. He saw that it was larger than any bird could physically be, and seemed to have fine, icy-blue feathers that released the obscuring mist.

He just stared at it with rapture for a moment, drawn in by the beauty of the bird. Even if he couldn't actually see it, the barest hint of its form and the power it exuded even without moving drew his attention.

Ash looked down at Nidorino to see what he thought, but his friend seemed to be kneeling. He completely ignored the horrible cold in his awe, only moving when Nidorino had risen again. His friend's eyes were far away and unseeing of the world around them.

"Let's go, Nidorino!" Ash said, excited and hoping to get a better look at the creature. He turned to his right and saw a long flight of slick, icy steps that would take him down to the ice level. Nidorino seemed uncomfortable with it, but carefully followed.

He was careful on the steps. Ash didn't want to have gotten through the Caverns just to fail now. Although there were a few close calls, he grew nearer and nearer to his majestic goal. It was all he could really focus on. The ordeals he had faced coming here, the cold that only seemed to be magnified with every step he took – those things were trivialities in the face of the mysterious raptor in front of him.

Ash neared the bottom of the painstakingly carved stone stairs when he suddenly tripped. He cried out in surprise as he fell down the last four stairs, wincing as he impacted the icy stairs and then the perfectly smooth ice, which sent him sliding. The trainer rubbed some of the pain out of his limbs, although he was more focused on the loud echoes his surprised cry had sent throughout the cavern. Nidorino quickly leapt down after him, nimbly avoiding the same fate he had.

He eventually came to a stop. Nidorino carefully walked over to him and nudged him to see if he was alright. Ash smiled and reassured his friend that he was fine, but the sudden howling of wind that hadn't been present before cut him off.

The trainer glanced over at the source, shivering as the temperature in the room seemed to drop another ten degrees. Ash's eyes widened when he saw the mist that surrounded the strange bird slowly dispersing throughout the room, carrying even colder temperatures with it. He could barely see through it as it covered him, but it soon swept past him, leaving only a thin layer of it behind.

He covered his eyes and face as best he could with his cold glove as it swept him by, but removed his hand when the temperature warmed slightly. Ash heard a haunting cry that made him think of ice and winter. It carried an air of power with it, sending a chill through Ash yet again.

Ash looked up and saw that the great bird had awoken. It stood up on legs larger than his and outstretched its wings, showing off its true size. The bird called out again, sending another chill throughout the cavern.

It was massive. He had known that it was huge, but Ash hadn't thought it would be nearly double his height. The bird's wingspan had to be at least twenty feet, and its long, streamer-like tail gave it another ten feet in length. Its tail flapped gently in nonexistent wing, sending out waves of cold with each movement.

Its body was simply huge, mostly consisting of large feathers the color and consistency of ice. They released a freezing aura that he could feel from here, similar to the overall feel of the Caverns but far stronger. He saw that the feathers on its chest were much lighter than the rest, more like soft snow than ice.

The wings appeared to be made of ice. Its feathers were thin but looked to be sharp and smooth. The frame for the gigantic appendages seemed to be made of partially clear but strong ice. Each feather reflected the dim sunlight that reached the heart of the Caverns, making the bird seem to sparkle and flash with every small movement.

Large talons gripped the icy stone, tearing light gouges into them. They were supported by light blue legs that were far larger than Ash's one but seemed perfectly sized in comparison to the rest of the bird's huge body.

Its head was just as large as the rest of its body, but the crest drew most of Ash's attention. The eyes were closed at the moment, and thus unnoticeable. But the crest was impressive – three massive, perfectly formed shards of ice that gave the bird an even more majestic presence, almost as though it were royalty of a sort. A small, delicate, perfectly formed beak was currently open as it cried out its haunting melody.

The bird filled the air with its song one last time before opening its eyes. They made Ash step backwards and have the urge to run. Its eyes were glowing. Not the familiar glow of psychic power, but a glow of icy energy that consumed its eyes, revealing an ancient power that Ash couldn't hope to match.

Ash recalled Nidorino and took another step back, getting ready to run. The great bird suddenly placed its attention onto him, glowing eyes burning with some emotion Ash couldn't fathom before it suddenly shrieked.

Its earlier cries were nothing compared to this. The shriek caused the temperature throughout the room to lower and froze Ash to the bone. Ice throughout the room slowly cracked underneath the sheer power of it, and Ash thought that his body would be torn apart and frozen by the cry.

Although every movement Ash took as he slowly backed away burned his muscles and body, he stood strong against the powerful cry, despite the pain and power behind it. He edged towards the door that was only a hundred feet away, ready to sprint at a moment's notice. Although the bird was majestic and powerful and beautiful beyond belief, it was clearly too dangerous and too powerful.

His mind was too fuzzy and tired to really think about what the bird was, although he knew that he wouldn't be finding it in his pokedex. All he cared about was getting away and out of this thing's way.

The bird suddenly launched itself far up into the air with a single beat of its powerful wings. It shrieked again, cracking more of the ice, and stayed aloft in the air for a few seconds as it stared at Ash with eyes that glowed with primordial strength. Ash noticed that snow had begun to fall in the cavern, despite being hundreds of feet beneath the surface.

It shrieked again in what Ash recognized as anger or annoyance. The eyes flashed with more power as it suddenly flapped its wings, sending a huge wave of icy air flecked with chunks of ice and snow towards Ash. Ash supposed that it didn't like being awoken from its slumber before he took off towards the small exit.

He only looked back once. The wave of air added another foot of ice to the area of the cavern floor where it hit, healing all of the damage done by the cries. Ash shivered as he dumbly realized what that would have done to him and took off.

Ash heard another haunting cry before feeling the bird's presence approach. It was moving incredibly fast, and he didn't have to see it to know that it was nearing him quickly. He could feel the air that was infinitely colder than anything he had felt before approaching him, carried by the bird's huge, frozen body.

The trainer glanced back again, flinching when he saw the bird diving towards him. A roaring blizzard that had come out of nowhere followed behind it, adding thick layers of snow and ice onto what already existed. Ash quickly finished the last dash to the small entrance, not stopping when he reached the safe area.

He could still hear the angry cries of the bird as he sprinted in, and the air around him continued to get colder and colder. It was painful to breathe, and his legs felt as though they were about to give out from underneath him. Surges of adrenaline continued to push him forward, however, and slowly the cries of the bird and the freezing blizzard it carried with it quieted and eventually disappeared.

Ash still heard the cry of the bird – it was omnipresent, haunting the entirety of the Caverns now that he realized its existence, the singing emanating from the air and stone itself. It was weaker now, though. Barely noticeable unless he focused on it.

The tunnel he had entered was bright in comparison to the rest of the cave system – there were small cracks in the surface high above that let a bit of light into the tunnel. It was much like the long hallway he had taken into the bird's resting place, although it was made of carefully carved stone instead of ice. The tunnel had had an upward slant.

He also noticed that it was steadily getting warmer the longer he continued. Ash stopped sprinting when he felt he couldn't keep it up any longer and dropped to a slow walk. While he wanted to just stop and take a breath and give his frozen lungs a break, he knew he couldn't. His entire body was freezing and numb, and he had to keep moving.

While the air was getting warmer, it still wasn't enough. Ash paused and collapsed against the wall before fumbling with Infernus' pokeball. It took a while – frozen fingers weren't dexterous – but he eventually got his friend out.

Ash sighed in relief as Infernus emerged. The magmar seemed surprised that the temperature was so warm – it was about as warm as the upper levels, a nice contrast from the frozen tombs he had been traversing for the last day – and quickly set to work heating the area up.

"Thanks, Infernus." Ash said gratefully. Infernus just snorted and waved his tail around some more. They both enjoyed the heat for a few more minutes. It seemed to come much easier in this tunnel than anywhere else in the cave – Infernus had to work less to get more, and the air remained heated without his constant effort.

He stayed in the wonderfully warm air for a long time, enjoying the feeling of actually being warm for once. While he could feel the bird's influence freezing the air around him, he and Infernus inhabited a warm bubble that defied the great bird's presence. Ash sighed when he realized that he had to get a move on. His body felt warm and comfortable, and he had mostly recovered from the bird's power.

"Thanks." He repeated. "You just saved my life."

Infernus snorted again before Ash recalled him. Although it was warmer than the rest of the cave system, it was still too cold for the magmar. Icy environments and Infernus just didn't mix well.

Ash released Bruiser and Zubat in Infernus' place. Zubat quickly attached herself to his back while Bruiser just looked for something to battle.

"We're safe." Ash said as Bruiser looked down the long hallway. "I just don't know if we will be in the future."

Bruiser nodded, but looked somewhat disappointed at not having a chance to battle. Ash didn't share his disappointment. He'd had enough of battling for a few days. All he really wanted to do was find a warm, soft bed and sleep until he had completely forgotten the deep freeze of this cavern.

They continued walking up the hallway, all three of them growing more and more happy and carefree as the chill slowly lessened, giving just the hint of truly warm air. While Infernus had provided plenty of welcome heat for Ash over the past three days, it just wasn't the same as natural warmth.

As they walked up the long, narrow hallway, Ash thought of the bird. Now that he wasn't half-dead from the numbing cold and frozen air of the bird's chamber, he knew what it was: Articuno, the Bird of Ice and one of the three legendary birds of Kanto. It was spoken of only in ancient myths and legends, renowned for its power over ice and unnatural might, which matched those of the other birds.

While he was a bit annoyed over the fact that Articuno had tried to turn him into a frozen statue, his sheer awe at the great bird overshadowed it. He couldn't believe that he, Ash Ketchum, a trainer of less than a year, had already seen one of the fabled legendaries. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most people – less, in fact, since the vast majority of the population never saw a legendary at all.

Aside from his awe at seeing one of the birds so highly regarded amongst the people of Kanto, Ash was amazed at the bird's strength. It was more than just a pokemon; Articuno seemed more like a force of nature than a mere bird of exceptional size and with control over ice. It was an extension of ice itself, frozen air and water given an avian shape, a winged creature whose wing beats carried blizzards and unnatural cold in its wake.

Ash focused on his encounter with the legendary bird for the rest of the time they spent walking through the long hallway. It wasn't too long of a time – ten to fifteen minutes, perhaps – but it felt like an eternity as he constantly thought of Articuno. He could barely believe that he had actually seen Articuno, or that he had survived its ire.

But the first glimpse of sunlight breaking into the tunnel tore him from those thoughts, instilling a deep sense of glee in its place. He slipped past Bruiser and took off as fast as he could in his eagerness to escape the Caverns.

His motions disturbed Zubat, who seemed to have fallen asleep as he walked, and she gave a small hiss of annoyance as she nearly fell off. Ash slowed down a bit and felt a bit guilty at disturbing his small friend, but he awkwardly managed to pat her as he jogged.

He stopped just before he entered the actual sunlight. Aside from realizing he could actually feel a breeze coming from the exit – it carried a light scent of salt with it, but not nearly as much as the Caverns did – he remembered that zubat weren't supposed to be in the sun. Their bodies were just too sensitive to the sunlight, and if they stayed in it for more than just a few minutes their skin would become lightly burned.

Zubat was too timid and terrified of everything as it was. She had warmed up quite a bit towards him – she was happy to be around him and let him pet her, and she even got along with his other pokemon relatively well – but he knew that the fragile bond they had developed hinged upon him keeping her safe. The bat could be tough, but her general personality was just too timid for him to put her in harm's way.

"Sorry." He muttered to her. "I forgot that you didn't like the sun. I'm putting you back in your pokeball, alright?"

His scout gave an understanding cry in response. Ash took that as his cue to return her. He looked back towards Bruiser, who looked just as gleeful to return to the surface as he was.

"Well, what are we waiting on?" Ash asked Bruiser with a grin. Bruiser perked up, his eyes almost manic at the thought of escaping the Caverns. "Let's get out of here!"

Ash suddenly took off, running as fast as his tired legs would let him. Bruiser wasn't far behind, his massive bulk barely inhibiting his speed as he followed Ash with short, choppy steps. He grinned widely as he felt the light and warmth of the sun hit his face for the first time in days.

He didn't even look at his surroundings for a moment. He just basked in the feeling of finally being away from those forsaken Caverns. It wasn't a hot day – it would have been fairly cold if he had arrived from anywhere but the heart of the Seafoam Caverns – but it felt incredible.

Eventually his eyes opened. He continued to enjoy being away from the Caverns – even though the conditions had grown steadily better as he left through the hidden exit the feeling just didn't compare to knowing that he had finally escaped – but he realized that he had to focus.

He was standing on a large patch of stone. The tunnel was small and almost unnoticeable, just a small, smooth cut in the earth's surface that was half-hidden by the immense boulders that covered the area. Grey sand and herds of slowpoke lazing in it dominated the landscape before him, and the cold ocean seemed incredibly calm.

Ash turned backwards and noticed that Bruiser still seemed to be relishing the fact that they were out. He looked up and saw that the tunnel led into a huge hill. It wasn't quite a mountain, but it was as close as the Seafoam Islands were going to get.

The trainer stepped away from the patch of sea-weathered stone and into the grey sand, which crunched underneath his cold, wet shoes in a way that was wonderfully different than the way snow or slush did. He found a small stone to sit on and called Bruiser over. Ash wanted his friend close.

He pulled his PokeNav from one of the storage compartments – he hadn't wanted it getting messed up during his venture into the Caverns – and activated it. When all of the covers had opened, he squinted at the screen that was dimmed by the sun's light. Ash fiddled with it for a while before getting to the map.

Ash selected the Seafoam Islands' map and quickly found his location. It showed that he was at the very southern tip of the island, not too far from the small town he had arrived at. He smiled when he saw that he didn't have to walk far and stood up. The trip would only be thirty minutes or so unless there was particularly rough terrain.

"Bruiser!" He called out. His friend had walked away and was curiously examining a slowpoke. The slowpoke was belly up in the sand and had its head submerged under the sand. Bruiser was carefully poking it, seemingly putting all of his focus into the task.

Bruiser looked back at Ash and stood up, not embarrassed in the least. Ash just laughed. "We aren't too far from the town. Let's go."

His friend nodded and took his position by Ash's side. Ash was tired, but he was too excited to really notice it.

With that, they set back to the small seaside town. It would be a short journey.

XX

When they arrived nearly an hour later – it turned out that they had to find their way around a few cliffs – Ash went straight to the Roaring Wailmer, although he returned Bruiser before entering the town. Ash could go to the Pokemon Center tomorrow. Right now he just wanted to talk to Captain Stewart and take a very long, very comfortable sleep in the bed that he hadn't been nearly grateful enough for.

He didn't have to show his ticket to the sailor that stood by the ship with a bored expression on his face. The man recognized him and waved him aboard, only glancing up from his magazine once.

Ash found Captain Stewart fairly quickly. The older man was lazily sprawled out on a long, reclining chair. He was reading some sort of book, but Ash didn't look at the title.

"Hey, Captain." He called out wearily, too tired to care about how he sounded. The Captain grinned widely and stood up, tossing his book to the side.

"Glad to see you back, kid!" Stewart laughed. He pulled out a cigar and lit it before saying anything else. "Were the Caverns everything you heard?"

Ash thought for a moment about the brutal cold, dangerous terrain, monstrous pokemon, and the powerful raptor slumbering in the heart of the crucible. As he thought about the cold, he realized that he was still wearing his jacket. He took it off and slung it over his arm before answering.

"Yes, it certainly was." He replied drily. "I went to the deepest levels. Just one of the pokemon down there managed to knock out half of my team, the cold was so intense that I had to use my magmar every hour or so just to stay alive, and I had to spend hours trying to find safe paths."

Stewart's grin grew wider. "That sounds about right." His brow furrowed. "Wait, you went to the deepest levels? What did you find down there aside from the pokemon? I only went down until I couldn't bear the cold anymore and nearly had Gira defeated by a dewgong and a pack of seel."

"I saw Articuno." Ash said bluntly, his eyes far away as he recalled the experience. "It was just around an hour or two ago, in fact."

Stewart chuckled. "Nice joke. Now, really, what did you see? Any water stones or just a bunch of ice. I know a few guys that have gone down there before, but none that went down during the Ice Time."

"I saw Articuno." He repeated. "It was sleeping on some sort of shrine. I think that it's the cause of the Ice Time – I could feel it everywhere."

"You aren't kidding, are you?" Stewart asked dumbly, taking his cigar out of his mouth and staring at Ash. "Where did you see it?"

"At the very lowest level of the Caverns, or at least I think so." Ash replied. "It was just in this huge cave that opened up into the sky. I accidently woke it up, and it tried to attack me. I ran into this weird hallway, though, and found my way up to the surface. People must have made it a long time ago as a short cut."

Stewart listened in wonder. He sighed and shook his head after a while. "Do you remember where that entrance is?"

Ash nodded. He doubted he would ever be able to forget it, although it might take him a while to find the exact area again.

"Well forget it." Stewart ordered firmly. "Don't tell anyone else about it unless you know that they won't tell anyone else. Don't even talk about Articuno except to people you can trust. Those caverns are dangerous, and if you tell the world that Articuno dwells within you'll get all kinds of idiots and crazies trying to find it."

"I get it." Ash replied, perfectly understanding Stewart's position. He hadn't been planning on telling many people anyways, not if it meant disturbing Articuno's rest and forcing the legendary to find a new place to roost. Besides, he would never tell the location of the hidden entrance. If somebody was going to see the great bird, they would have to go through the same trials that he did.

Stewart smiled. "Good. You're a lucky one, kid. I've only seen a single legendary in all my years of travelling – a Latias, and that was only a glimpse while I was in Altomare. But seeing Articuno close up…I envy you."

Ash couldn't recall what a Latias was, but got the gist of it. He suddenly yawned, causing Stewart to laugh again. "Go sleep, kid. Three days in those caves must have been damn hard. Enjoy your rest."

He nodded thankfully and staggered to his cabin, the exhaustion finally hitting him after being staved off for hours by a constant supply of adrenaline. Ash released Nidorino, Dazed, Bruiser, and Zubat before he collapsed into bed. They all looked incredibly happy to be on the surface again, but he didn't have much time to watch them before he was lulled into unconsciousness.

XX

The next day was a lazy one. Ash woke up late – he had slept through the rest of the day he got back and most of the morning of the next – and hung around the ship for an hour or so, eating all of the food that he could get his hands on. Captain Stewart eventually kicked him off the vessel, telling him that he needed to have some food left over for the voyage to Cinnabar and that Ash should go explore the town.

He didn't bother looking around the town at first. Ash went straight to the Pokemon Center, realizing that he hadn't called his mother yet and that he needed to get Plume back.

Ash hoped that Plume had gotten over some of her anger at him. He knew that she was a prideful pokemon, and probably thought that him sending her to Professor Oak meant that he saw her as weak, but he hoped that she would realize that it was just because she would have gotten hurt.

The trainer wasn't looking forward to sending back Zubat. She had proven to be a valuable friend, and he didn't damage her already fragile emotional state. Zubat had only just begun to really trust him; Ash could only hope that that trust wasn't damaged by him sending her back.

Nurse Joy looked a little surprised when he stepped into the Pokemon Center. Ash saw that Will was nowhere to be found. The older trainer was probably preparing someone else to go into the Caverns.

"So you're back." She said as he walked up to the counter. "How were the Caverns? Were they what you expected?"

Ash shivered. "It was a lot more than I expected. I should have taken another two jackets."

The nurse smiled. "Sounds about right. Anyways, what do you need?"

"I just need you to check up on my pokemon. It got pretty cold and I'm not sure how well some of them took it." He replied, taking all of the pokeball's but Zubat's off of his belt and placing them on the counter. Ash had to snap out a steadying hand to keep Dazed's ball from rolling off the counter.

Nurse Joy called out for her assistant. The teenager came out from the back room a moment later and took the pokeballs after Nurse Joy gave her instructions.

"They'll be ready in about ten to fifteen minutes." She said. Ash thanked her and went to the Transfer Room. No one else was in it, so he didn't have to wait on a line like he had feared. The Pokemon Center was just as busy as it had been when he first arrived.

He quickly punched in Professor Oak's number. The machine hummed for a minute as it activated, the black screen slowly coming to life. It made one last noise before suddenly cutting on, displaying the same room Ash had seen last time.

Professor Oak wasn't in the room, so Ash took the time to release Zubat. The small pokemon squeaked as she was released before flying to her ordinary position. Ash didn't even wince at the slight pain he felt when her small, sharp hooks grabbed onto his shirt. He'd gotten used to it over the time they spent in the Caverns.

"Hey, Zubat." He whispered, taking care not to scare the flighty creature. Zubat hissed back at him in a friendly manner. "I'm just telling you that I have to send you back to the Oak Corral. We're going to be in the sun a lot, and you wouldn't be able to come out of your pokeball."

Zubat hissed in a somewhat less friendly manner, her hooks jabbing harder into his back. Ash just frowned; he could detect the undertone of fear in her hiss. It was higher and more piercing than her usual squeaks and hisses.

"Shh." He said soothingly, reaching around his back to lightly pet Zubat. "I'll see you as soon as I can, alright? But you'll just be stuck in your pokeball for the next few days or weeks, and I'd rather you be outside."

His friend hissed again. Ash sighed and glanced at the screen. Professor Oak still hadn't arrived yet, so Ash still had some time.

"I promise that I'll see you soon. You're a good friend. I wouldn't just leave you. Come on, Zubat, I just need you to trust me, alright? I'm not going to forget about you."

Zubat's hiss was a little bit lower this time, and Ash felt that he was making headway. He didn't want Zubat to become distrustful or angry at him. Ash really did like the little bat, even if her meekness could be a little difficult to work with at times.

"You know what?" Ash asked. He felt Zubat shift around on his back. "I never nicknamed you, did I? You're a part of the team now – one of our friends. Do you want a nickname?"

His friend clutched a little tighter and squeaked in what Ash assumed was agreement. Ash realized that he would have to get Zubat off of his back when he was talking to her from now on. It made her much more difficult to interpret.

"Is that a yes?" He asked, just to be sure.

Zubat squeaked again.

Ash had been thinking of a nickname for his newest partner ever since he had first released her. He had narrowed it down to a fairly narrow list, and he started off with his favorite. Perhaps it wasn't the most creative, but Ash thought it fit Zubat. At least her main role for the team, anyways.

"How about Seeker?" Ash questioned. Zubat squeaked in the same tone again, which Ash assumed was satisfaction. If she didn't like it, he was sure she would lightly jab him with her small hooks. "Alright, then. Seeker it is."

The newly dubbed Seeker squeaked again. Ash smiled and scratched her ears and spoke to her some more for the next few minutes. He started to grow tired of waiting, but after a while a red-faced Professor Oak appeared on screen, panting and sweaty.

"Oh, hello, Ash!" The Professor wheezed out. Ash returned the greetings and patiently waited for the older man to recover. When he did, Oak continued. "Sorry about the wait. I was out in the fields with your pidgeot. She's been a great help in managing the rattata."

"I'm glad she could help." Ash said with a grin. "Plume's actually what I came to talk to you about. Could you send her over? I'm going to be on a ship for the next few days and I don't want Zubat cooped up in her pokeball the entire time."

Oak nodded. "Of course! I actually have her with me right now. You know what to do."

Ash whispered a goodbye to Seeker before returning her, promising the zubat that he would see her again soon. Seeker squeaked a goodbye before she was returned.

He carefully placed the pokeball into the transfer machine. Oak did the same with Plume's pokeball and a moment later the balls had been switched. Ash took Plume's ball from the machine and clipped it onto his belt. While he was sad that he had to send Seeker away, he was ecstatic to have one of his first friends back.

"Before you leave, could you tell me how your trip into the Caverns went?" Oak questioned. "Gary was thinking about heading into them for a little extra training in a few months."

Ash took about five minutes to tell his experiences to Professor Oak, although he left the part about Articuno out. He didn't think the Pokemon Center was secure enough, although he knew that he would tell Professor Oak about the legendary sometime in the near future.

"I see." Oak said, scratching his chin and reclining back into his chair, deep in thought. "Perhaps I can get Gary to wait until the Ice Time is over. If I'd known it was that dangerous, I'd have done my best to stop you from going in."

"I would have found a way to get in anyways." Ash said confidently, a little bit of spirit breaking into his answer.

Oak frowned, although his eyes showed that he was amused. "I'm sure you would have. Telling you not to do something never did work out very well. Anyways, have you talked to your mother yet? She's been very worried about you."

Ash shook his head, a bit of guilt worming its way inside of him. "I'm calling her right after this. I just wanted to get everything ready beforehand."

The Professor sighed. "I won't keep you then. Send my regards to Gary if you see him. He hasn't called me in a long time."

He frowned, but didn't get a chance to say anything before the monitor cut off. Ash sighed and punched in his mother's number. He didn't want her to be worried about him.

XX

After a long conversation with his mother about his experiences in the Caverns – he had made sure to keep most of the dangerous bits out of the story, although he made clear that it wasn't an easy journey – Ash left for the markets. He wanted to see if they had found any Dragon Scales.

An hour later, he walked away from the busy marketplace empty-handed. Ash was a little disappointed that he couldn't find the item, but figured that there were plenty of opportunities in the future. But while he had been shopping, he realized that he should probably get Golduck from the Oak Corral and meet him. The Cinnabar Gym was known to be difficult, and he didn't want to use Golduck without knowing that the pokemon would obey him.

Ash transferred Bruiser over to Professor Oak. The older man didn't seem to have a problem about having to work with Ash twice, apparently glad to see Ash after more than three months.

Once he had Golduck, Ash went out to the forest. He had to search a while for a clearing sufficiently large enough to comfortable hold all of his pokemon, but he got lucky and found one on the northern end of the island. There were two tasks he needed to complete before he could relax with his friends.

First, he had to talk to Plume again. Ash just hoped that she hadn't harbored a grudge against him. Plume had her pride, and he probably hadn't done that pride a favor.

Second, he had to meet Golduck and feel out the newest addition to his team. Golduck had seemed far more aggressive than any of his pokemon outside of Infernus, so Ash wasn't sure if the water-type would be under control by the time they reached Cinnabar.

Ash didn't hesitate in either of his tasks. He first let out all of his pokemon aside from Torrent, Plume and Golduck.

Nidorino grunted and looked up at the sun, basking in the rays that he hadn't felt in several days. He stayed like that for a while before taking Ash's side, receiving a pat on the head as greetings from Ash.

Dazed had a similar reaction, albeit more subdued. She nodded at Ash once before exploring the clearing, experimentally glancing up into the sun now and then.

Infernus, however, went wild. He seemed prepared to freeze for a few minutes as he saved Ash's frozen body from dying, but froze when he realized that they were no long in the Caverns. A moment later Infernus began roaring and stamping his foot on the ground, sending flames cascading in all directions and causing the earth around him to bubble and crack in Infernus' glee.

Ash just smiled and stepped away from Infernus. The fire-type had suffered greatly for him in the Caverns. He wasn't about to take away Infernus' fun.

After a few minutes, even Infernus had calmed down. Ash put a hand on Plume's pokeball, unclipping it and returning it to its normal size. He almost hesitated, but quickly threw the ball into the air and released Plume before he could think about it anymore.

Plume shrieked out her arrival, drawing the attention of the rest of his friends, before taking to the skies. She began to circle over the clearing, letting loose piercing cries. Ash could feel her keen eyes glaring at him.

Nidorino didn't seem to like that. He tensed up and gave a deep, rumbling growl. Ash placed a calming hand on his head, carefully avoiding the horn that was beginning to leak poison.

"Don't hurt her." He said to his best friend. "She has a reason to be made." Ash turned his gaze to Plume, who was still circling high in the sky. "Plume! Come down. I want to talk to you!"

His friend shrieked again before slowly coming down, losing altitude at a lazy rate. Ash patiently waited with his arms crossed, knowing that he had as much time as he needed. Plume was just a bit upset.

She finally landed, carefully slamming into the ground just a few feet in front of him. Ash met her fierce gaze calmly, undaunted by the bird's sheer size and power. Nidorino growled at Plume and tensed up.

"Calm down, Nidorino." Ash commanded. He turned back to Plume. "It's nice to have you back. How was the Corral?"

Plume shrieked at him and beat her wings. A bit of charred earth and soot left over from Infernus' celebration was whipped up and thrown at him, but Ash didn't particularly care.

"Is that a yes or a no?"

His friend shrieked at him in annoyance and stepped closer on her talons, but a growl from Nidorino and the smell of charged power in the air kept her back. Ash frowned.

"Look, those Caverns were brutal. There were ice pokemon there powerful enough to take out half the team. We got lost several times. We encountered Articuno and nearly froze to death. How would have you helped out? All that would have happened is that you got hurt, and I really don't want that to happen."

Plume's puffed out chest seemed to deflate a little, but she still seemed a little angry. Ash sighed and continued.

"Do you think I liked transferring you? You're one of my first friends. I like Seeker, but she can't replace you." Plume's chest puffed out again, and Ash stepped closer. "Listen, I just traded you to keep you safe. You're strong, but you couldn't battle against those ice-types, not when they were given a power boost."

The bird preened under his praise and Ash smiled. He meant everything he said, but he did have to embellish it a bit. Plume's vanity was the best way to approach her, although it was usually kept in check by her loyalty and friendliness.

"I promise that I'll never leave you unless I have to. This was just a bad area. There isn't another place in Kanto I can think of where you'll need to leave." He said, pressing his position. Ash gently stroked Plume's smooth crest, making her lean her head forwards.

She had no objections to him touching her, and seemed pleased enough with him, so Ash assumed that he was forgiven. He hoped that he didn't have to be separated from his friend for a long time.

The group relaxed for a while, enjoying the chance to actually communicate and see each other instead of hurriedly moving along in the hopes of not freezing to death. Infernus was particularly pleased – he was practically dancing around the clearing, sending small bursts of flame through the air around him with every movement. Ash had Plume blow any that managed to gain a fuel source out, although most died on their own.

After an hour of messing around and relaxing, Ash finally remembered Golduck. He had a frown on his face as he called over his friends.

"We have a new teammate." Ash announced. "Dazed, you remember him. Nidorino, you probably got a glimpse of him. He's a golduck and, if he's as aggressive as I remember, we might have some trouble with him. Get ready to battle."

Nidorino growled. Ash saw an arc of electricity travel up his horn before dissipating. Dazed's eyes began glowing, clearly ready to battle the powerful golduck.

Ash stepped back and released Golduck. The large blue creature seemed annoyed at being released, but quickly scanned the surroundings. When it saw Ash, its eyes glowed a bright blue and it spit a fast, powerful blast of water at him.

He flinched and ducked, but it turned out that there was no need. Dazed had erected a barrier of shimmering blue energy in front of him a split second before the powerful water gun hit. Ash slowly looked up and saw that Nidorino and Infernus were attacking Golduck. The others were forming a circle in order to keep the combatants from escaping.

Dazed continued to stand by him, maintaining the psychic barrier with minimal energy. Ash just watched as his friends battled Golduck. They only had a little bit of trouble battling the powerful water-type and it also gave Ash a chance to appraise Golduck's skills.

The first thing he noticed was that Golduck seemed much weaker than it had inside of the Caverns. Granted, he hadn't gotten many chances to actually see its capabilities, but Golduck just didn't have the power it had previously displayed. It was reacting slower, had less power behind its attacks, and could only use its psychic abilities a few times before it was exhausted.

Despite its lessened power, Golduck held its own against the combined might of Nidorino and Infernus. It spit water at Infernus, dodged several of Nidorino's thunderbolts, and did its best to viciously attack both of his friends. Golduck took as many hits as it dealt out, but it seemed to have no battling instinct other than to attack relentlessly.

It was Infernus that took the frenzied Golduck out. While Nidorino drew its attention and dueled it in a battle of claw and horn, Infernus attacked it from the rear and wrapped his large, hot hands around Golduck's torso. Infernus roared and flared up, sending flame blasting out from all over his body.

Golduck squirmed and bit and kicked, but the flames eventually knocked it out. Infernus casually dropped his defeated foe to the ground and belched flames into the air as a sign of his victory. Nidorino just grunted and curiously stood over Golduck.

Ash complimented his friends on their work before withdrawing his pokedex and scanning the unconscious Golduck.

"_Golduck, the Duck Pokemon."_ The calm, mechanical voice said. _"Golduck is the fastest swimmer among all pokemon. It swims effortlessly, even in a rough, stormy sea. It sometimes rescues people from wrecked ships floundering in high seas. When it swims at full speed, its forehead begins to glow._

_This Golduck knows the moves: Water gun, confusion, water pulse, aqua tail, zen headbutt, and hydro pump. Its ability is Damp, which enables it to have a resistance to explosions and fire-type moves_. _Electric attacks will be amplified."_

Ash could definitely make use of its move pool. While not as formidable as it had once seemed, Golduck still had a fair bit of power backing him up. Coupled with its impressive move pool, he was sure that it would be a good opponent for Blaine. Its ability had a few perks, but he was ambivalent about it. Water-types already resisted fire. That weakness to electricity was a huge hole, but Ash could work around it in most cases.

The trainer checked Golduck's gender. It was a male.

He walked over to the fallen Golduck and kneeled beside him. Ash put his pokedex up and gave Golduck a revive. A few seconds after the white powder fell into Golduck's mouth, the pokemon stirred and began to pull itself up with its strong arms.

Ash stepped back and gave Golduck a little space. Nidorino and Infernus took their places by his side. He nodded at Dazed, who took the signal to flank Golduck and prepare to disable and hypnotize him.

Golduck wearily stood up. It looked ready for battle, and its eyes glowed with its fury when it saw Infernus. The water-type quickly spit a powerful water-gun at Infernus, but Dazed disabled it the moment afterwards. Infernus flared up the instant before the water hit him, converting some of the water gun into steam and taking only a little bit of damage.

Infernus roared and stepped forward. His fist erupted in flame and the bad-tempered pokemon prepared to take his vengeance on Golduck.

"Infernus! No!" Ash commanded, leveling a stern look at the aggressive fire-type. Infernus growled and looked as though he might ignore Ash, but another command caused Infernus to acquiesce and return to his former position. "Thanks. We don't want to hurt him."

The magmar snorted at that, which Ash ignored. Ash stepped forward and placed his hands up in a gesture of peace. Golduck glared, but he was still locked in by Dazed's disable and couldn't do anything.

"Calm down. I don't want to hurt you." Ash said placatingly. Golduck glared and began to move a little. "But if you keep on trying to attack us, I'll just have my friends knock you out again. I have all the time in the world, and I just want to be friends."

Golduck growled and waved his arms a little. He quacked angrily when Ash just stood there staring at him. Ash could tell that the disable would wear off in just a few moments. The psychic lock was already beginning to fizzle out.

"So, are you going to calm down?" Ash asked as the disable finally wore off. Golduck tensed and prepared to fight, but a deep growl from Nidorino convinced him otherwise. "Like I said, I just want to be friends. If you come with me, I'll make you a lot stronger."

Unlike most pokemon Ash had met, this statement didn't draw much interest from Golduck. He seemed almost insulted by the remark and stood up much straighter. But he did glare and nod at Infernus. The fire-type roared at the challenge and spit a massive flamethrower into the sky, causing small, burning embers to float down around them.

Ash grinned. It looked like he had a way to get Golduck to cooperate. "You want to battle Infernus?"

Golduck quacked and nodded, never letting his gaze drift from Infernus. Ash's smile grew wider.

"Then let's make a deal. I'll let you battle Infernus, but under a few conditions: I won't be commanding him, and if you lose, you have to cooperate with me and join my team. If you win, I'll take you back to the Caverns and release you. Deal?"

An unholy gleam entered Golduck's ruby eyes and they began to glow with psychic power. Golduck nodded and prepared for battle. Ash nodded at Infernus and let the fire-type square up. Ash and the rest of the team moved far away from the fierce battle about to take place.

When the rest of the team had moved to safety, the battle began. Golduck quacked angrily and went for the obvious way to defeat the powerful magmar – his psychic power.

Golduck's eyes and head glowed brightly, providing a bright spot that stood out even in the powerful rays of the sun. An aura of blue energy enveloped Infernus, and Golduck's eyes surged with even more light.

Infernus roared angrily and threw off the psychic attack, his body too powerful for the attack and his rage too bright. He seemed to remember Golduck's improved resistance to electric attacks and didn't bother blasting the water-type with a flamethrower. Instead, Infernus blew a huge cloud of thick black smoke from its mouth, small embers mixed in with the gas.

Ash could still see Infernus even as he moved into the obscuring cover of the smoke – Infernus wasn't built for stealth, not when he constantly had flames blazing from his body and licks of fire trailing him in combat – but it was still harder to discern him. He heard Golduck squawk in anger and heard sizzling sounds.

Suddenly, the smoke was blasted away by a burst of flame. Ash coughed and covered his mouth as some of the smoke drifted over to him, but turned his attention to the battle when it passed. Infernus seemed to have blasted the smoke away with a small explosion of flames, but had turned to fire spin in its stead.

Infernus flared up and released a twister of flame towards Golduck, which curled around and trapped the water-type in a vortex of swirling flame. Ash could barely see through the inferno and was very glad that most of the grass and vegetation had already been burned away. He looked towards Plume and nodded at his friend. She quickly took off and began blowing out flames that had the potential to spread. The trainer looked on at the battle curiously, surprised at the strategy Infernus was using.

He hadn't used fire spin very much. Infernus was generally capable of powering through most foes, and the fire-type generally had a strong aversion to using the camouflage afforded to him by the flames. But it looked like Infernus disliked Golduck enough to override that quirk.

Infernus roared and flared up as Golduck blasted him with a hydro pump. He was hurt by the attack, but his almost supernatural stamina allowed him to survive the attack. The fire-type suddenly disappeared into the flames, his body allowing him to stalk unseen through the blaze.

Golduck quacked in surprise and suddenly formed a ball of blue energy in his hands, which he threw onto the charred ground. It formed a massive wave that exploded outward when it hit the ground, slamming into the fire spin and weakening the flames' power.

But Infernus had dodged the attack and suddenly appeared behind Golduck, leaping from the vortex of flame and slamming a burning fist into Golduck's back. Although the flames didn't badly hurt Golduck, the sheer force behind the blow sent Golduck sprawling to the ground. Golduck quacked and shot a high-powered jet of water at Infernus, but it did little other than to slow the fire-type down.

Ash grinned when Golduck was consumed by a massive flamethrower, Infernus' rage fuelling the hot flames. It wouldn't hurt Golduck, but it would weaken the proud pokemon. Infernus quickly pressed his advantage and slammed a burning foot onto Golduck's chest, pinning the water-type beneath his weight.

When Infernus pulled his large foot up and prepared to slam it down and send an eruption of flame and lava blasting up from beneath Golduck, Ash drew the line. He snapped his attention to Infernus and called out for him.

"Infernus! That's enough!"

Infernus obeyed him almost instantly this time, extinguishing the flames that consumed his body and caused the heat waves that made his appearance shimmery and indistinct to die down. Plume blew out the fire spin, which was easily gotten rid of thanks to Infernus no longer powering it.

After Plume blasted the rest of the flames out, she fluttered over to Ash and took her place beside him. Ash smiled at her, glad that she hadn't held a grudge. A moment later, however, he stepped forward until he was just a few feet away from Golduck.

"Good job, Infernus." He said with a grin. Infernus roared and seemed quite pleased with himself. Apparently the fire-type had little love for Golduck.

This fight did make Ash realize that he was wasting Infernus' potential. He had just been using him as a nigh unstoppable juggernaut for the month or so that they had been travelling together, using him as a battering ram that defeated opponents through sheer power and ferocity. Ash had actually somewhat forgotten about the cunning and other abilities that Infernus had displayed, as well as the strategic use.

To be honest, Ash was disappointed with himself. He'd let both Infernus and himself down. He would just have to remedy that in the coming days. But for now he focused his attention on the ash-covered Golduck, who had pulled himself up on tired arms.

Golduck retained his pride. He ignored Infernus' celebrations and stood up as tall as he could manage. The water-type looked Ash straight in the eye, pride bent from the crushing defeat but not broken.

"Are you ready to be part of the team?" Ash asked with a grin. Golduck snarled as best he could, although his defeated appearance ruined the effect. "We made a deal. I'd expect a golduck to honor it."

The water-type stood up even straighter, eyes blazing with anger. He quacked and nodded, bowing his head a bit in acknowledgment.

"So are you going to cooperate?" Ash questioned. Golduck slowly nodded, although it looked extremely difficult for him to do. "Good. I promise that I'll make you as strong as I can."

Golduck quacked in response, seemingly unconvinced, before walking away and turning his back on the rest of them. Ash shook his head in annoyance. While Golduck had acquiesced to join the team, it didn't seem like he would be very close with the rest of them.

Oh well, Ash thought as he looked at the rest of the team. Now that the drama had passed, they had returned to their former activities. There would be plenty of time to try and work that arrogance out of Golduck later. For now, he just wanted to relax.

XX

The next morning found them on the ship as it disembarked from the port. Ash stood with Nidorino by his side, watching the familiar town slowly fade away as they moved farther and farther away from the Seafoam Islands.

While Ash couldn't say that he would ever miss the Caverns or the trials within, he had grown fond of the island and appreciated the strength the Caverns had imparted upon him and his pokemon. After facing the icy depths of the Caverns, he was sure that he could do anything. It had made them all tougher, both physically and mentally.

He had kept Golduck, although he got Professor Oak to bring Bruiser to the screen so that Ash could apologize and explain his reasoning. Bruiser seemed far more understanding than Plume had and accepted Ash's reasons, although he still seemed disappointed. Ash promised to bring him back soon, though.

Golduck was responding better to Ash, although he had a fierce rivalry with Infernus and disliked the others. He respected their power but hated them for it at the same time. Ash hoped that he could reach the water-type and make him a bit more amenable over the trip to Cinnabar.

Captain Stewart promised to help Ash with the unruly Golduck in his off-time and gave Ash permission to let the water-type swim alongside the ship. Ash hoped that the physical work could make Golduck happier and more receptive to his outreaches.

As the small outline of the Seafoam Islands finally vanished from Ash's view, he turned away and looked towards the direction of Cinnabar. The Seafoam Islands had been an important part of his journey and had posed difficulties that he wouldn't forget, but he was excited to move on and test his strength against new challenges.

Ash had a grin on his face as he thought of Blaine, the old, experienced battler that would be his next challenge.

Cinnabar Island awaited him.


	8. Chapter 8: Cinnabar Island

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and supported this story! Thanks to all of you, I finally broke the one hundred mark! This one is a bit heavy on battling, but overall I liked it.**

**Anyways, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

"That Golduck's nothing but trouble." Captain Stewart sighed as he sat down on a large box. Ash nodded in agreement and sat down across from the older man. "He's got a bit of potential, but he's too angry and arrogant to use it. It'll take time to reach him."

Ash shrugged helplessly. It was their last day at sea and they would be able to see Cinnabar Island within a few minutes. They had been trying to train Golduck over the three day journey, but even with the old trainer's help Golduck proved to be far too stubborn to properly train. He followed Ash's commands every now and then, but only really obeyed when Ash reminded him of their deal or when his own pride was at stake.

While Golduck refused to train, Ash was sure that he would do his best if Ash actually put him into battle. Golduck was too prideful to accept anything less than his best when it actually mattered. In the battles Ash had with the off-duty sailors Golduck performed quite well, following every order and managing to use some semblance of strategy.

That was why Ash would be using him against Blaine. It was a risk and Ash had thought about choosing a different pokemon to open with, but he decided that there wasn't a way that using Golduck would hurt him. Even if he lost with Golduck, he would at least do some damage and it might help to drive into Golduck's thick skull that he wasn't as powerful as he thought. If Golduck won a battle then he would have proved his worth on the team, although Ash would still have to work on the attitude.

"By the way, kid, are you coming back to Fuschia?" Stewart asked as he removed his pipe from his mouth and blew a ring of smoke into the frigid air. "That's where we're headed after we dock. I've got to make another few circuits."

Ash shook his head. "I'm thinking of heading back to my home town after I'm done here. I'll see if the Viridian Gym is open. If not I'll just get someone I know to teleport me to Saffron."

He'd come up with his plan on the first day back. Once he hit Cinnabar he would be the closest to home he had been in months. Ash was sure that Professor Oak would let him borrow his Alakazam in order to teleport to Saffron. If not he could just fly there on Plume, although he felt incredibly nervous about trying something like that. Plenty of trainers flew on the backs of pidgeot, but he would prefer to just be teleported.

Captain Stewart absentmindedly nodded. "Never been to either of those places myself. I've never wandered far from the coast. Heard about Sabrina though – most of the trainers I take are terrified of the woman."

The trainer smiled, remembering how easily she defeated him. He could definitely believe that people complained about battling her.

Suddenly the ferry's horn blared, shattering the calm silence that had prevailed over the last hour of the ride. Stewart's head snapped over and he stood up.

"I've got to go. It looks like we're getting close to Cinnabar." Stewart said lazily as he stretched out his tired muscles. "Good luck on your journey, kid. I hope you get that Golduck under control."

Ash nodded in understanding. "Aren't you going to have to come back down to give out instructions?"

"Nope." Stewart replied with a shake of his head. He was already walking away. "I've got someone else to take care of that. Sorry, kid, but there's a lot of paperwork I've got to fill out. Cinnabar's a stickler about that kind of thing."

"Alright." Ash said shortly. "Maybe I'll see you again sometime."

Stewart nodded and walked into the cabin area, his long coat flapping around his legs. Ash watched the old man walk away for a moment before sighing and looking out to the west. While most of what he could see was nothing but calm, gently rolling waves, he could see Cinnabar coming up

The trainer felt a little sad that he had to say goodbye to the old sailor. Although Stewart could be a little coarse and desperately needed to shave, Ash liked him and Stewart had taught him a lot. Ash doubted that Golduck would have trained at all if the Captain hadn't told him how to approach the arrogant water-type.

He sighed and stood up. Now that he was done attempting to train Golduck and didn't have anything else to do he should go back to his cabin. Ash had forgotten to pack the previous night, and he assumed that he only had an hour or two left before they disembarked.

XX

An hour and a half later they landed. One of the sailors that Ash had never talked to delivered the speech that told them when the ship would be leaving, the main attractions, and what pokemon could be found on the island.

Ash found it curious that the sailor didn't mention the gym at all. Gyms were one of the dominant features of any city – the gym leader was responsible for protecting cities and towns in their territory from any threats and headed the League forces in the area. It was odd that its location wouldn't be given to newcomers.

He shrugged it off, though. It shouldn't be too hard to discover the gym. They were hardly inconspicuous.

The first thing he noticed about Cinnabar Island was that it was hot – it was a tropical resort just like the Seafoam Islands but on a larger scale. And since it didn't have an "Ice Time" Cinnabar was just as hot and bright as Ash would expect a tropical paradise to be.

The second thing was the volcano. It was the dominant feature of the island and was what Ash had been able to make out an hour ago, but he hadn't expected it to actually be the entire island. The volcano proper was at the very center of the island, and small mountains covered in forests jutted up around it. Cinnabar was built on one of the bottom slopes of those mountains, where the land had almost flattened.

Ash wondered if any powerful pokemon lived in the immense mountain. He was sure that he would probably find solitary magmar wandering around somewhere nearby – volcanoes were their favored habitat and magmar weren't particularly shy or afraid of humans – but figured that there had to be some other fire-types thriving in or around the volcano.

He promised himself that he would search around the slopes. Ash wasn't sure that he was up for actually looking inside the volcano – that seemed stupidly dangerous – but there couldn't be any harm in being around it. Maybe he would get lucky and find another magmar that Infernus could battle. It would be interesting to see how his friend compared.

But for now he should just focus on finding the gym. Once he beat Blaine he could explore to his heart's content. It wasn't as if he was short on time.

Ash sighed and looked around the town. It was a typical tourist trap. Bright colors and countless vendors vied for the crowds' attention; all seeking to take their own bite into the tourists' wallet. He did his best to ignore the vendors and various tourist attractions.

What he couldn't ignore was the stereotypical music playing in the background, the same tune that seemed to play in every resort he'd ever seen on television. It made Ash want to run out to the wilderness and embrace its silence.

"Excuse me." Ash said as he went up to one of the vendors. The tall, broad-shouldered woman seemed to think that he was a customer and went into a spiel about her product.

"Hello!" She exclaimed with a great deal of almost convincing cheer as she waved her hands over a wide selection of pokeballs. Most were just painted different colors but Ash spotted some of the rarer variants. "You've found Regina's stall of balls! Poke, great, lu –"

Ash raised his hands up. "Sorry, but I just need to know the directions to the gym."

The vendor frowned and the excitement instantly drained out of her body. "Head down that road for about a minute until you reach the end. Now shoo. I've got business to do."

"Thanks." Ash replied stonily. The vendor ignored him and looked for more potential customers with keen, predatory eyes.

Although he had his misgivings about the validity of the woman's directions, he followed them anyways. It wasn't as if he had anywhere else to go. He suspected that the rest of the advice would be just as unhelpful. If it led him to a dead end he could always just find the Pokemon Center and ask the Nurse Joy in charge.

Ash managed to slip through the crowd until he reached the very end of the road. He got out of the bustling crowd and looked around for the gym. When he saw nothing but a few merchandise stands and the ruins of some old wooden building he frowned.

"I guess she was just messing with me." Ash said with a scowl. "Where's the gym?"

"You're looking for Blaine's gym?" A soft, low voice asked. Ash snapped around in surprise and stepped back when he realized a tall man was right behind him. He took a moment to take the man in.

The man was aged, although the wrinkles on his face were faded and barely noticeable. He had a large, bristly mustache and long, light brown hair. A pair of sunglasses covered his eyes, glinting with the sun's light. He wore a bright red shirt and pants, and a necklace made of large green beads. Ash suspected that if he looked at the man's eyes they would be red and glazed over.

"Yes." Ash replied warily. He didn't particularly want to be around the strange man. "Do you know where I could find it?"

"I do, in fact." The old man said with a smirk. "The answer is a riddle. His gym is where you put your glasses."

Ash sighed. He suspected the man was wasting his time. "Could you just tell me?"

"No." The old man quickly replied, amusement coloring the tone. Ash had a scowl on his face as he thought it over. He wasn't the best at riddles. Battling was much easier.

The obvious answer was on his face. But, as he had learned from Gary when his former friend went through an odd phase where he was obsessed with riddles, the answer was rarely the most obvious one.

Ash thought about it for a few more seconds before it struck him. "In front of my eyes?"

"You are correct!" The old man exclaimed sarcastically, throwing his hands in the air. "Look over there to see your prize."

He turned to the old, overgrown ruins that the old man pointed at. Ash sighed. "Are you serious? That's a wreck."

The strange man grinned, although it had a sad undertone to it. "Blaine got tired of battling tourists that cared more about postcards and t-shirts than pokemon. That's when he abandoned the gym." His words took on a particularly strong tone of disgust when he mentioned tourists.

Ash frowned. It sounded as though Blaine had just moved the location instead of actually abandoning his gym leader status. But if Blaine had abandoned it without telling anyone the location of the new gym, the League would probably put him in all sorts of trouble. So he had to have told someone.

"I'm a real challenger though, not a tourist. Blaine has to give me a battle." Ash replied with a bit of fire in his voice. "Do you know where the real gym is? Blaine had to have told someone where he moved."

The man shook his head. "I'm afraid not, my friend. Blaine only has to accept your challenge if you can actually find the gym. But if you need anything, here's my card."

Ash carefully took the proffered card from the old man's fingers, glancing down at it. "The Big Riddle Inn?"

An odd name for a hotel, but Ash supposed that it fit the man perfectly. Ash glanced up to ask a few more questions but realized that the old man had vanished. He frowned and looked around. Still no sign of the strange man.

Ash suspected that the old man was more than he seemed. He was just a bit too knowledgeable about everything. He was probably just someone in the know – possibly even one of the people Blaine had told the location to.

Although he could probably learn a bit from the man, Ash decided to avoid the Big Riddle Inn as best he could. He didn't want to put up with his oddities if he didn't have to, especially since it just seemed like the old man was only trying to waste his time.

Nevertheless, he placed the card in the pocket of his jacket. The town looked as though it were filled to capacity. While the Pokemon Center should have plenty of room it was best to be on the safe side.

He figured that he should probably head to the Pokemon Center. Ash could remember the directions to it pretty easily, and perhaps one of the nurses would know where he could find the gym.

Ash walked away from the ruined gym a few moments later. He wanted to be able to look around the town and island before nightfall, so it was best to get started.

XX

"What do you mean there's no room?" Ash asked in annoyance. He tried to keep his patience with Nurse Joy – she looked horribly stressed out and exhausted – but he couldn't keep all of it out of his tone. "Are any of these people actual trainers?"

Nurse Joy shook her head. "Maybe one or two are real trainers, but most are just tourists that have a trainer's license. They're abusing the system, but I can't legally force them out. I'm really sorry, but we just don't have enough room. People are even sleeping in the lobby."

Ash sighed. "Thanks for your time. But do you know where the gym is?"

"The gym? I have no idea." Nurse Joy frowned. "Blaine just took off one day and set a fire in his old gym. It has to be somewhere on the island, but I wasn't informed about it. But if I know Blaine, it'll be somewhere that no one will expect – somewhere that only the smartest or the strongest would be able to reach. I'm sorry that I can't help you."

He grinned and waved it off. Nurse Joy just gave him a hint. Maybe he would be able to find it on his own, even if it would take a while. "It's fine, and thanks for taking the time to talk to me."

Nurse Joy smiled at him before leaving to attend to the tourists. Ash scowled at the tourists clogging up the Pokemon Center before he left. He would have to spend even more time looking for a place to sleep now. While he would be fine curled up somewhere on his sleeping mat and with his friends, he would prefer to stay under a roof for at least tonight.

Unfortunately, even after two hours of searching that had put him in a very bad mood, he had no such luck. Although Ash went to almost all of the hotels that he could find – and there were a lot considering that this was a resort town – they were all completely full. Apparently he'd had the misfortune to come during the busy season, so there was no chance of him finding a room.

Ash hesitantly pulled out the card that the old man had given him. While he really didn't want to see the stranger again, it looked like he had no choice. Unless he wanted to be searching the town for the foreseeable future in the vain hope that he could find a place to stay he had to at least try the Big Riddle Inn.

It had the name of the hotel in the upper right corner, under which was a simple drawing of a volcano. A house and clouds were on the left side of the card. Under the volcano were a few lines of text. Ash angled the card into the light and squinted at the small words.

"If you look near the swings you'll see my hands, or at least my face." He read aloud.

Ash's eye twitched as he realized that it was another riddle. He wouldn't be surprised if the old man printed these out just to mess with people, although he couldn't see how the Big Riddle Inn stayed in business if nobody knew where to find it.

He scowled and put the card back in his pocket. While it wasn't doing anything for his somewhat short temper at the moment, it might be useful later. Ash made sure not to "accidentally" tear it as he put it in.

Unfortunately the Inn was his best bet, so he would do his best to find it. If he couldn't find it then he would just set up camp outside of the city. It wouldn't be too bad, although he preferred sleeping in an actual bed when he was in a city.

The trainer turned back into the hotel he'd just left. While the receptionist hadn't been able to get him a room, maybe she could tell him where the Inn was.

She was reading a magazine when he came in. Ash supposed that there weren't that many people coming in this late – it was sunset by now – and she didn't have to pay as much attention. The receptionist quickly put the magazine away when he walked up and looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Look, I've already told you that we don't have rooms. I doubt any of the other hotels do either, come to think of it." She said in an annoyed tone. Ash frowned and brushed her off.

"I just need to know where I can find the Big Riddle Inn." He said stonily, not bothering to be particularly polite. Ash had gotten fed up with this about an hour ago.

The receptionist raised an eyebrow. "That's the one that crazy guy runs, right?"

Ash wordlessly nodded, figuring that was an apt description of its proprietor.

"Sorry, no one knows where that place is. I think a few trainers have gone there, but they never say anything. All I know is that it's somewhere outside the city proper."

"Thanks." Ash sighed. He should have figured that it wouldn't be that easy. Oh well, at least this made his choices somewhat easier. If he didn't find the inn he could just make camp wherever he felt like.

The receptionist was already back to her magazine and waved him away. Ash frowned at her for a moment before leaving the brightly lit hotel, just a bit annoyed with the teenager.

But he didn't have time to be annoyed. Ash didn't want to be stumbling around outside the city at night so he needed to hurry up. Hopefully he wouldn't have to. Plume didn't have the best night vision, but he hoped that she could use the little daylight they had left to find the hotel.

He wasted no time in heading towards the main gate. Ash had passed it several times while looking for a hotel, so didn't have to ask directions. The walk to it took only about five minutes, so Ash didn't burn up too much precious daylight.

Ash quickly walked out of the confines of the city, releasing Nidorino and Plume once he did so. Plume quickly soared up into the air with a single beat of her powerful wings. She took her position high above Ash, scanning for any danger. Nidorino took Ash's side, staying just a little bit behind the trainer.

"Hey, guys." Ash said with a grin, his mood lightening a bit thanks to his pokemon. "I'm looking for a hotel called the Big Riddle Inn. Plume, could you help me out?"

Plume shrieked an affirmative and took off. Ash slowly walked down the trail. His friend would easily be able to find him even if it was dark, and he might get lucky and find the hotel in an area where Plume's vision might be unable to penetrate.

He wandered around for a bit, although he always stuck to the trail. Cinnabar Island had similar trees and plants to the mainland, although most of the trees here were much taller and thinner. There were a few large patches of the light forest that had been completely burned down. Ash figured that it proved at least some fire-types made their home on the island.

About fifteen minutes later, he heard a loud shriek coming from above. Ash looked up and smiled at Plume as she gracefully landed in the space just a few feet in front of him, her massive bulk not inhibiting her in the least.

"Did you find it?" Ash asked hopefully. The sun was almost completely down and he would have to set up camp soon, even if he was only about a mile from the city.

Plume nodded proudly and puffed out her chest. Ash smiled and gently stroked her crest, whispering his thanks to her. She soaked up the attention, chirping brightly.

"Can you show me where it is, or do we need to wait until tomorrow?" Ash asked, not wanting Plume to fly at night if it might cause her problems.

His friend seemed to snort at him as best a bird could and took off, sending a gale of powerful wind to the ground that kicked up a huge cloud of dust and sent Ash stumbling back. Plume shrieked out her position to him once he had recovered, prompting him to look up. She slowly flew forward, pausing and circling around when Ash didn't follow fast enough.

Ash coughed a bit to get some of the dust out of his lungs and followed Plume, his eyes locked onto her dark form. It was getting dark, but he figured that the hotel couldn't be too far away. So he followed his friend's direction, doing his best to get around every minor obstacle the terrain threw in his path. Nidorino managed to guide him around small gaps in the earth caused by the constant seismic activity.

Eventually the journey took them up several steep hills, causing Ash to believe that they were starting to climb one of the mountains or the volcano itself. Night was converging quickly, so Ash increased his already brisk pace. He saw a small playground at the base of one of the hills. Ash's mind flashed back to the riddle, "If you look near the swings you'll see my hands, or at least my face". It looked like he was getting close unless, of course, the old man had given him the card purely to mess with him.

But after scaling the steep hill – he felt a little annoyed at Plume for being able to fly; she constantly shrieked at him in order to get him to go faster and flew over his head now and then, apparently unable to understand that hills were difficult to climb up – he was able to see a faint glow coming from a large, dim shape.

Ash's hopes rose drastically in the moment Plume lazily glided over to the shape, which he recognized as a large building. The fatigue in his legs from the climb practically vanished as he jogged towards the building. Plume circled over the building and he could hear Nidorino's large, heavy feet pattering the ground as his friend charged behind him.

He slowed down to a brisk walk as he neared the building. From here he could vaguely make out the sign above the door proclaiming the building to be the "Big Riddle Inn".

"Finally!" He exclaimed. Nidorino growled in agreement. Ash looked up to Plume, who was still circling over the building. "Thanks, Plume. You did great!"

Plume cried out in response before he returned her. Ash pulled the door open – it was a bit of a struggle considering that it was thick, heavy wood, but he managed – and stepped inside. He held the door so that Nidorino could get in as well and looked around.

The room was quite large, although the ceiling was a bit low. Several large windows opened up an incredible view that showed off the glowing lights of the town and the wide expanse of untouched forest that provided a buffer between the town and the Big Riddle Inn.

A small, empty desk was right in front of him. Several small tables holding various pictures of the sights around Cinnabar Island dotted the room. He noticed that most of them focused on the volcano. More pictures showed off the forest or some of the wild fire-types. Ash counted a ninetales, vulpix, arcanine, and several magmar in the portraits.

"So you managed to find me." The low, soft voice of the old man spoke up from his left. Ash snapped his attention to the old man, who was leaning on the brown wooden wall with his arms crossed. "As a prize, I give you free rooms here at the hotel."

Ash nodded. "Thanks."

He blushed as his stomach suddenly growled. Ash hadn't eaten since he got off the ship and it was beginning to show. The old man grinned.

"I guess I'd better get started on supper. Your room's over there." He said, pointing to a hallway. "First one on the right. The hot springs are through those stairs. They'll take you out back." The old man continued, gesturing towards a set of stairs that descended into the ground. "I'll just call you when dinner's ready."

Ash nodded his thanks and headed to his room, Nidorino calmly following. He saw the proprietor go off to wherever the kitchen was before he went out of sight.

He wrinkled his nose when he stepped into the room. It was fine – the furniture was well-looked after and everything looked fresh and clean – but there was the slight stench of sulfur in the air. Ash sighed and figured he'd get used to it in a few minutes. The smell was probably from the hot springs underneath the hotel. There probably wasn't any getting around it.

Despite the unpleasant smell, Ash found the rest of the room to be satisfactory. He placed his pack underneath the bed and found a toothbrush and other toiletries inside the small connected bathroom. Ash looked around and let Nidorino jump up on the bed.

Ash sat down next to his friend a few moments later, done exploring. The room was pretty small, so there wasn't that much to see. He just patiently waited for dinner, patting his friend every now and then and making a plan of what to do tomorrow.

He figured that he would explore the island in search of the gym tomorrow. Blaine might have hidden it well, but Ash would find it even if he had to walk over the entire island. The gym leader couldn't hide it from Plume's eyes, and Ash knew that he would find it.

After that he would probably stay in Cinnabar for a few days to relax and hopefully let Infernus test his strength against others of his kind. Infernus was the most powerful member of his team, although Nidorino was a close match in both power and experience. It would be interesting to see how he compared against other magmar.

And then it was back home. Ash still had two badges to get, but he figured a bit of relaxation wouldn't hurt him too badly. Besides, if he was at the Oak Corral he could stay and train with all of his pokemon. It would be nice to not have to switch out just to train them.

Suddenly, the call for dinner reached his ears. Ash snapped out of his thoughts and rushed out of the room, pausing only to let Nidorino out. His stomach had a far stronger hold on him than his mind did at the moment.

XX

"Huh. Is that how I used to eat when I was a trainer? You're worse than a snorlax." The old man said as Ash tore into the food, staring at the boy in disbelief. Several empty plates and bowls were littered around him and Ash was half-way through another. Ash's utensils were almost a blur as he dug in. Nidorino was little better. The poison-type was devouring bowl after bowl of food.

Ash just ignored the man. He had barely realized how hungry he was until he reached the hotel. It was nice to have a practically unlimited supply of food. When he was finished that bowl, he sat back and sighed. The proprietor decided that was the best time to cut in.

"Well, now that you're done eating most of my food, what's your name, kid?"

"Ash Ketchum." He replied, sitting up a little bit. "What's yours?"

The old man ignored Ash's question. "So you're a pokemon trainer. What pokemon do you have? Aside from your Nidorino, that is."

"A pidgeot, seadra, hypno, magmar, and golduck." Ash said, listing the pokemon he currently had. "Those are the ones I have on me, at least."

He noticed that the man's eyes brightened when he mentioned Infernus. The man leaned forward and clasped his hands together. "You've got a magmar? How well-trained is it?"

"He's one of the most powerful members of my team, along with Nidorino here." Ash grinned, patting his friend on the head. Nidorino grunted in thanks and quickly dove back into his dinner.

A wide grin split the old man's face. "I'm glad. I've grown up around magmar. They can be devastatingly powerful if trained correctly. If it's doing so well, I suppose you must be quite the trainer. If you can find Blaine's gym, I'm sure you'll put up a fight."

"Thanks." Ash replied. "Are you sure that you don't know where the gym is?"

The old man shook his head. "Sorry, Ash, but Blaine's gone. Those ruins are all that's left of the gym. Damn tourists ruined it for all the real trainers."

He frowned. While he hardly thought that the old man was telling the whole truth, it was clear that he wouldn't get anything out of him. It looked like he'd have to find the gym leader himself.

The rest of their dinner was quiet, with only a few snippets of conversation here and there. Ash finally grew full a few minutes later and went to his room after telling the strange old man good night. He released Dazed and took a shower before heading to bed, despite how early it was.

He wanted to get up early tomorrow so that he could have as much time as he could to search for the gym. If he had to sacrifice a few hours of scanning the pokedex database, so be it.

Ash took nearly an hour to go to sleep. He couldn't help but twist and turn as he fruitlessly sought sleep. Normally he was either exhausted when he went to bed this early. All the other times he went to bed at an incredibly late hour, so it wasn't that hard.

But he finally got himself tired enough to sleep. His last thoughts were that Dazed might have been helping him out.

XX

He woke up just as early as he'd hoped. It looked like the sun had only just risen and the air still held an early morning nip, although it was still warmer than most places on the mainland. Ash carefully slid out from under his covers, taking care not to disturb Nidorino. His friend was still curled up on the bed, ears twitching as he slept.

Ash nodded a hello at Dazed who was staring at him. She blinked in return and returned to staring out the window. Dazed's odd habit of staring into space or at walls had lessened since she had evolved. Instead she stared at sources of light or living creatures, analyzing their every movement. It had disconcerted some of the passengers and sailors aboard the Roaring Wailmer, but Ash didn't particularly care. Dazed could do what she wanted. She wasn't hurting anyone.

The trainer quietly got ready in the bathroom, brushing his teeth and taking his shower in just a few minutes. When he was done, Ash left the room and entered the main room. Dazed quietly followed him, shuffling behind the trainer and curiously examining the furniture and lightbulbs.

He didn't see any breakfast, unfortunately. Ash shrugged it off. There was some food in his bag that he needed to eat. It was getting a bit old and he didn't want to waste any of it. Besides, he was still feeling a little bit full from the huge meal he had gorged himself on last night.

Ash looked around a bit more but soon realized that the there wasn't very much to look at. While everything was clean and in good condition, the old man didn't decorate beyond the bare minimum.

Since there wasn't anything to do in here and he could hear the old man's loud snores coming from the lone bedroom near the flight of stairs that led to the hot springs Ash figured that he could just leave. He'd be coming back anyways, so it wasn't as if he needed to wake the old man up.

The trainer walked back into his room and woke Nidorino up. His friend frantically looked around and growled until he realized it was Ash. Nidorino grunted an apology at Ash and stretched before jumping off of the crumpled, balled up sheets.

Ash accepted his friend's apology before tidying up the room. He figured it was the least he could do since the old man had given it to him for free. Afterwards he left the hotel, although he remembered to recall Dazed before he did so. She had more endurance as a hypno, but she still didn't enjoy walking for long periods.

When he left he released Plume. She shrieked in happiness at being released and took to the skies. Ash grinned and looked around. He hadn't been able to see his surroundings very good last night.

It turned out that they were on the slope of the volcano. The fiery mountain loomed above him, its presence a reminder of nature's power. The Big Riddle Inn was on a carved out, flat piece of the mountain, almost a quarter of the way up. Ash supposed that the slight slope he had been travelling on had added up to quite a bit of height.

He turned his attention away from the volcano. Ash needed to focus on the important thing: finding Blaine and his hidden gym. Sight-seeing could come later.

A few moments later he set off. Ash decided to explore around the base of the volcano first. Blaine would probably set it up somewhere around the mountain of fire just for symbolic purposes. It would make sense.

But as he began the first steps of his search, Ash began to have a bad feeling that he would be searching for a very long time.

XX

It turned out that his prediction came true. For two hours he searched, finding nothing except a few clawed out burrows and several very annoyed vulpix. Ash managed to get away from the foxes quite easily – they weren't aggressive enough to chase him very far. After that he'd had lunch, feeding all of his pokemon the last bits of spare food. They deserved the treat.

Then he'd searched for another three hours. That hadn't turned up anything besides a few tourists that apparently had no idea it wasn't safe to be outside the city walls without any pokemon. Ash sent them back to the city, knowing that any mischievous or aggressive pokemon would terrorize them.

After that, he'd looked higher up on the base of the volcano. Ash wouldn't be surprised if Blaine had managed to hide a gym on the volcano's slopes, disguised and camouflaged from all but the most perceptive seekers.

And then even that hadn't turned up anything. He'd found evidence of magmar living around the volcano, but nothing else. Ash was beginning to get incredibly frustrated with the search and had finally retreated down past the slope of the volcano until he was back in the forest. At least this way he might find a trainer to battle, even if it was probably wistful thinking.

But right now he was investigating a massive stretch of charred earth. The blackened stumps of trees littered the area, showing that it was once a forest. A thin layer of ash and soot covered the entire clearing, causing each of his steps to leave an imprint. Gouges were ripped out of the earth and partially-hardened magma covered the area around it. All in all it looked as though a huge battle had taken place.

Ash kneeled and examined one of the tree stumps. The entire area was still quite hot and the ash in particular was still painful to the touch. Cinders burning in some of the tree stumps – Ash noticed that some of them looked like they'd been torn apart instead of just incinerated – told him that whatever did this couldn't be very far away.

He looked down at Nidorino. "Get ready. I think that whatever did this is close. Do you hear anything?"

Nidorino's face tightened in concentration and his long ears twitched. A few moments later he shook his head, although Ash noticed that he didn't seem completely sure. His friend seemed quite wary of something, although not even Nidorino knew what it was.

"Should I be on guard?"

Nidorino nodded and glared around the destroyed portion of the forest. Ash looked up at Plume. She still hadn't attacked, so Ash assumed that she hadn't seen anything from her lofty position. Hopefully that meant he would be fine.

Just to be safe he released Infernus. Judging from the sheer amount of devastation the area had been put through he assumed that a magmar had battled. The gouges in the earth resembled Infernus' lava plume attack. Still, Ash doubted that a single magmar could have wreaked this much destruction unless it was quite powerful. More likely it had been two fighting over territory. Magmar weren't exactly the most sociable pokemon, after all.

Infernus seemed to sense something the others didn't. He immediately walked to a safe distance from Ash and flared up, releasing a huge wave of heat from his body as he roared a challenge. Ash quickly backed away and was quickly followed by Nidorino.

"Be careful. This could get ugly." He warned his friend. Nidorino nodded and got ready to protect Ash from any threat. Ash released Dazed just to be on the safe side. She hadn't gotten much action lately and she would be invaluable against a fire-type.

And then a gigantic explosion occurred. Ash covered his eyes and was grateful that he had released Dazed – she instantly threw up a psychic barrier that easily shielded the three of them from the flames, heat, and lava that had accompanied the blast.

Wait, lava?

Ash watched with wide eyes as the familiar form of a magmar erupted from beneath the layer of ash and hardened magma at the edge of the clearing. Only this time it wasn't on his side.

Infernus roared again, challenging the newcomer. The magmar roared back, blasting a huge wave of flames toward Infernus. They were easily dodged, and Infernus sent a powerful blast of flames blazing back in response.

While the magmar dodged them, Infernus beat his tail around and roared again. The other magmar repeated the ritual and gave Ash the chance to examine it closer, although the waves of heat produced by the two battlers caused the other magmar's natural camouflage to act up and shroud some details.

From what he could see, this magmar was smaller than Infernus, but built stockier. It seemed older, however, as Ash could make out a few massive scars crossing over its body. In addition its attacks seemed more focused than the reckless, powerful attacks of Infernus.

Ash decided to let Infernus handle this. He'd heard that Blaine had an old, powerful magmar on his team, back from his days of being in the Elite Four. This way he could learn what worked and what didn't work against it.

Infernus made the first move. He stamped his foot, sending the earth around him blasting upward and causing lava to explode from around him. Magmar roared and expertly dodged the attack, displaying speed and agility beyond what Infernus was capable of.

Magmar quickly closed the ground against Infernus, dodging or taking the blasts of flame Infernus constantly sent at it. The older fire-type slowed for a second as it neared Infernus. Its eyes burned a bright red and a purple ball of energy flashed towards Infernus. Ash winced – he recognized a confuse ray when he saw one.

Ash's friend roared and suddenly attacked in all directions, releasing massive blasts of flames from all over its body. Magmar seemed smug about its successful attack and turned its head up to the sky. Its arms glowed brightly for a moment before firing a beam of bright, golden energy into the sky.

He began to pant as the sun suddenly intensified, casting a bright glare over the area. Ash was glad that he had his hat. It managed to block the worst of it, although the heat continued to be a problem. Dazed's barrier only blocked some of the heat from the battle itself, so this addition just amplified the discomfort he was feeling.

Magmar casually walked up to the wildly flailing Infernus and punched him in the gut. Ash winced at the attack. It didn't do much, but it had to have hurt his friend. The wild pokemon wreathed its fist in flame and punched Infernus in the face, clearly expecting the blow to be the end of the battle.

That's when Infernus breathed a stream of white smog from his mouth, covering Magmar and sending the older pokemon reeling and clutching at its face. Infernus quickly took advantage and spit a stream of powerful flame at Magmar, distracting it as Infernus slammed a flaming fist into its face.

Infernus continued the relentless assault, hurting Magmar not with the flames on his fists but by the sheer force and power behind them. The previously confident Magmar was helpless underneath the constant blows and was finally knocked to the ground. It wasn't unconscious thanks to its immense durability and energy, but it was defeated.

His friend suddenly slammed a shackled foot onto Magmar's chest. An instant later the earth around him exploded, sending chunks of earth slamming into Magmar's back. Infernus stepped off of Magmar and blasted it with a flamethrower, adding insult to injury. The attack did little, but it made Magmar realize that it had made a mistake.

The older fire-type suddenly blasted flames everywhere – Ash noticed that quite a few of the blasts were aimed at him and the other pokemon, although the barrier managed to hold up – and ran away. It blended in perfectly with the rippling flames, but Infernus didn't seem fooled. He charged after Magmar, blasting huge streams of flame with a newfound ferocity.

Infernus angrily roared when he realized that his foe had eluded him and turned back to Ash. With a stamp of his foot the flames covering him were extinguished, although the inferno around them blazed, albeit far away from Infernus and the others.

"You did great, Infernus!" Ash shouted. Dazed lowered the barrier and let Ash run up to his friend. Infernus roared at the praise and shot a huge blast of flame into the air, apparently not even tired from his recent battle. The trainer grinned – he really liked how tireless Infernus was. He'd be up for a battle in just a few hours.

Then he turned to the inferno. It was still roaring and the heat was brutal – he was sweating like crazy – but Ash figured Plume could get rid of it easily enough. He whistled and called her down. While it might have been smart to call out Golduck, Ash didn't expect the water-type to actually do anything. Golduck refused to do anything outside of battles.

Plume quickly extinguished it with great gusts of wind. The flame had already begun to weaken and die once Infernus stopped powering it, but now it was being swept away, leaving nothing but a few cinders that would soon die in the charred surroundings.

Ash wiped a bit of sweat from his brow. He looked at his hand in distaste. His sweat was gritty and black from the soot.

"Thanks, Dazed. Infernus, you did awesome. I bet you'll beat anything Blaine throws at us!" Ash said. Dazed nodded with a bowed head while Infernus roared again and blasted even more fire into the atmosphere. With that he returned them, letting them rest inside their pokeballs.

Once the last of the flames were gone, Plume landed in front of him. He grinned at her and lightly scratched her head. Plume chirped at the contact and leaned into him, causing Ash to stumble back and laugh.

"You did good, girl. I'm going to head back to the hotel." Ash said, observing the world around him. Sunset had just begun, and he knew that it would be useless to try to find anything in the dark. He couldn't even find that accursed gym in the day.

Plume nodded her understanding and took off, leaving large talon marks in the ash. He looked down at Nidorino, who seemed much more relaxed now that the hidden threat had been vanquished.

"Alright, buddy, are you ready?"

Nidorino nodded. Ash grinned and set off. He might not have had the most productive day, but at least it had been kind of fun. At least the walk back wouldn't be too bad. He was only about half a mile from the Big Riddle Inn.

XX

As he left the huge clearing, he almost ran into a tall figure. Ash leapt back and looked at the shadowed figure with careful eyes. Nidorino growled and squared himself for battle.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't see you there." The figure replied. The deep voice revealed the figure as a man. Despite the casual words, the voice carried with it a powerful undertone of authority and power. Ash noticed that it had a slight accent that Ash couldn't place. "I'm just going to investigate a fire I saw a few minutes ago. Do you know what they are?"

Ash took in the man before answering.

The first thing he noticed was how absolutely massive the man was. He was quite tall, although not to a ridiculous extent, and his burly frame balanced it out. His build was powerful, filling out his height without seeming odd or disfiguring.

The second thing was the hair. It was long and styled backwards in order to keep out of his eyes, but what attracted Ash's attention was that it was light red. Not quite pink, but closer to it than any other shade. The color seemed to fit the man, however, and didn't detract from his intimidating appearance.

His clothes were also unique. He wore combat boots and an odd sort of suit. It was mostly dark blue, although the chest and stomach area were a bright crimson, as were the cuffs. The suit was made of some odd material that Ash couldn't really describe, although it looked highly durable and somewhat shiny.

Ash couldn't help but notice the cape. It was small enough to be relatively practical, but at the same time it was a cape. He didn't think that he had ever seen anyone wear a cape before out of movies, and all in all it seemed like an odd clothing choice.

The man's face was fierce looking, although it was relaxed and calm at the moment. It was angular, a characteristic only augmented by his hair.

All in all it wasn't a look that Ash ever expected to see travelling in the forest, although he had the funniest feeling that he'd seen the man before. It was at the back of his mind, but it was like something was keeping him from realizing it.

Ash shook his head and answered the tall man. "Me and my pokemon got into a battle with another magmar. It ran off, though, so everything's fine."

The man frowned. "Are you alright? Magmar can be pretty dangerous."

"I'm fine." Ash confirmed. He went out on a limb, figuring he had nothing else to lose. "Do you know where I can find the gym here?"

Ash was met with an ambiguous expression. "I might. What's your name?"

"Ash Ketchum." He replied honestly. "What's yours?"

"My name is Wataru. Anyways, I can give you help. Of a sorts, at least. You see, Blaine built another gym, one that tourists never see. It's in a place where firefighters can never win." The man said with a grin. Ash scowled – what was it with weird strangers and their riddles?

Fortunately, this was an easy one considering where they were. The place where firefighters could never win – a volcano.

"No way." He whispered, eyes growing wide. "Blaine built his gym in the volcano?"

Wataru nodded, a slight smile on his face. "Correct. Since you figured it out, I'll give you another hint. Have you come across the Big Riddle Inn?"

Ash slowly nodded, mind racing at the possibilities. And then Ash pieced it together. The riddles along the same vein as the one Wataru just gave him, the hotel that was the only building even close to the immense volcano.

"You've got to be kidding me. The hotel owner is Blaine?" He said incredulously. Wataru smiled.

"Indeed. Anyways, look for a gyarados. Blaine is waiting."

Ash nodded distractedly, disbelief overtaking his other thoughts. He couldn't believe he'd missed it. After talking to the man and even spending the night there, he hadn't even been suspicious of the old man. Maybe he'd thought that the old man – Blaine, he corrected – knew something about the gym's location, but never that he was the gym leader himself.

"Thanks. But how'd you know that any—" Ash suddenly stopped talking, finally noticing that Wataru had vanished. He sighed, slightly annoyed at the helpful man's disappearance. It just didn't seem right that such a large man was able to slip away like that.

Oh well. That didn't matter at the moment. What did matter was that he knew where the gym was and how to enter it.

Ash had a wide grin on his face as he set off, no longer feeling the accumulated fatigue of the day.

Blaine awaited him.

XX

Sunset was just beginning to end when Ash reached the Big Riddle Inn. He was heedless of his own exhaustion that had accumulated over the day of constant searching, too focused on his task to let such a minor thing inconvenience him. Ash had a badge to earn.

Nidorino, on the other hand, didn't show any hint of tiredness. Ash had to envy him for the immense endurance and durability that his friend possessed, although it had been helped by the fact that Nidorino never had to battle all day.

Blaine wasn't in the hotel. Ash figured that the gym leader was waiting in the gym. That just pushed him on more – he remembered Wataru's hint to look for a gyarados. He assumed that it was some sort of statue or picture – there was no way a real gyarados would fit in the hotel.

But he didn't go blindly rushing in. Ash looked around the hotel's main room and thought for a moment. If the entrance was somewhere in the hotel, than it had to be connected to the volcano. None of the hotel proper actually touched the volcano, which meant that it had to be out back or underground. That meant his best bet was to search those hot springs Blaine had told him about.

Ash briskly walked over to the stairs and went down. Nidorino slowly followed him, able to traverse stairs with little difficulty but uncomfortable with the narrow, carved wood. The air grew hot and a strong smell of sulfur entered his nose.

He wrinkled his nose in disgust and waited on Nidorino, who was only halfway down the stairs. When his friend caught up with him, Ash looked around the hot springs. They were pretty small, but looked comfortably warm. That didn't attract his attention though. What did was the large statue of a gyarados' head that supplied the springs with their water.

They carefully walked up to it, managing to walk along the damp, slick stone that surrounded the springs. Ash was slow, not wanting to get all of his things wet. Nidorino didn't care about that. He gleefully jumped into the hot, bubbling water and swam over to the statue. His friend leapt out of the water and patiently waited for Ash to arrive.

Ash smiled at his wet friend before curiously examining the area around the statue. There wasn't a door or anything hidden behind it, so it looked like something about the statue itself would let him enter the gym.

He ran his fingers over the rough, grey stone. Ash winced at the heat radiating from the statue but got used to it after a few second. The trainer sighed when he found nothing around the neck or the sides of the head and lightly searched the burning top of the stone, careful to keep his hands from touching it for more than a moment or two.

Ash suddenly grinned when he felt something press down a bit as he applied pressure. He figured that that was his way into the gym. The trainer carefully angled his hand so that only his light glove would make contact with the hot stone before pressing down.

The moment it wouldn't go anymore he yanked his hand back. Even with the barrier his glove provided it was still quite painful to put his hand on the gyarados' head. Ash waited for a moment before the stone suddenly began to grind.

He stepped back carefully as the gyarados statue suddenly swung away, nearly hitting him and knocking him into the hot springs. The water that fell from its mouth was suddenly cut off, and a huge section of the cavern wall smoothly slid into the ground.

Ash curiously peered at the large pathway that had been provided for him. It glowed ominously with dim red light, but he couldn't actually see into it. A little thing like that wouldn't dissuade him, however.

"Let's go, Nidorino." He said to his friend as he stepped into the pathway. Now that he was closer, he could see that it was a short staircase carved from the stone. The steps were uneven and ragged, so he assumed that a pokemon had done it in a hurry. It was lit by candles placed into alcoves by the stairs.

He traipsed down the stairs casually, noting the growing heat but ignoring it. Blaine's gym was in the volcano, so he'd be experiencing a lot worse in a few minutes. Before he reached the bottom of the stairs, Ash was able to make out two huge, steel doors that hid the next area from his eyes.

Ash had to admit that he was feeling a bit nervous. Blaine certainly had a flair for the dramatic.

The trainer almost tried to pull the doors open himself, then realized how stupid that was. He had entered the side of a volcano. Those doors would probably be burning hot.

He quickly released Infernus. "Hey, could you open those doors for me?" Infernus seemed disappointed at the lack of the battle but prepared to do as he asked. "Carefully, please." Ash hastily added.

Infernus growled but did as he asked. His burning hands weren't even affected by the intense heat blazing off from the massive doors and he looked almost bored as he yanked them open with his immense strength.

"Thanks." Ash said before returning the fire-type. Infernus would get a battle he wouldn't be forgetting soon enough.

Ash couldn't help but freeze when he entered the next area. Aside from the huge wave of heat that crashed into him, imparting upon his skin a burning sensation and causing him to sweat, the huge room he entered was simply awe-inspiring.

They were in the heart of the volcano. A huge platform that was suspended over the bright, burning magma by huge, thick chains sat in the center, the lone protection against a fall. Smoke hovered everywhere, stagnant and shrouding the other side of the arena from his view. When he looked up, he could see out of the volcano's dome. The darkness of night was easily banished by the bright, molten magma.

He shook himself out of his shock and stepped forward, drawing closer to the edge of the stone. Ash didn't dare look down – he'd probably jump back and make himself look weak in front of Blaine, wherever the old man was.

Suddenly the volcano was illuminated by several massive lines of lights. Ash could see that the rest of the area, previously shrouded in the darkness, was mostly just a large ring of stone around the very edge of the arena. The other side of the arena was also illuminated, showing that a set of doors similar to the ones he had come in through blocked the entrance.

Ash had to blink at the sudden light. When he heard the familiar voice of the old man, however, he quickly glanced up and ignored the slight pain in his eyes.

"It looks like you found your way here after all." The soft voice called, easily reaching Ash's ears despite the bubbling of the magma. Ash looked up and saw the familiar form of Blaine, casually standing on the edge of the volcano.

"Hello, _Blaine_." Ash called out, placing particular emphasis on his name. He could see that the man had a wide grin on his face.

Blaine didn't acknowledge his statement with anything other than a slight nod. "It's not a hat, but it keeps your head dry. If you wear it, it's only because you already lost it."

Ash groaned as Blaine gave him yet another riddle. Even though he glared at the gym leader, Blaine just patiently stared at him. He finally gave in and thought it over, realizing that Blaine wouldn't battle him until he solved it.

It took him a while, but he finally solved it. Ash would be quite happy to never hear another riddle again. Blaine had given him enough for a lifetime.

"A wig!" He shouted in an annoyed tone. Blaine nodded with a pleased look on his face.

"And you're right again!" He exclaimed, suddenly tearing off his long hair and pulling his glasses off. Ash took the moment to look at the Fire Master.

Blaine was almost completely bald aside from two shocks of hair on the sides of his head. His eyes were narrow and fierce looking. They also had the effect of making his face look far less calm and relaxed. Now it seemed bony and sharp, a far cry from his former appearance.

"Now, are you ready to battle?" He shouted, his voice shifting from the mellow and soft pitch to a sharp, harsh bite. It made him seem far more intimidating.

But Ash just nodded, a wide grin on his face. This looked like it would be an awesome battle.

Before they went any further, Ash went over what he knew about Blaine.

Until about fifteen years ago, Blaine had been one of the Elite Four and had reached the rank of a Master. He left the prestigious position once he and his pokemon grew older and more frail, although he was still a powerful battler and more than worthy of the Gym Leader title.

He was also incredibly intelligent, which showed itself in the construction of this gym. Not just anyone could have built their own arena over a lake of burning magma. The fact that they weren't burning up just from being this close to the volcano proved that he had some method of draining the heat.

All of that just made him all the more appealing to defeat. The things Ash had to go through just to find this gym made it all the better.

"This will be a three-on-three battle." Blaine barked; a pokeball already in his hand. He adopted a slightly sadistic tone before putting his black sunglasses back on. "Ready to begin? I hope you have a burn heal!"

Ash groaned at the pun but nodded and stared at the gym leader with a determined expression on his face. He reached down for Golduck's pokeball. It would be best to get the weakest member of his team out of the way first and let him do some damage. Besides, he didn't have any better members aside from Nidorino, who he wanted to use as a safety in case Golduck messed up, and Infernus, who he wanted to save for last.

"Go, Rhydon!" Blaine shouted, sending the massive rock-type onto the field. Ash grinned and sent out Golduck. He wasn't sure why Blaine had a rhydon, although he supposed it might be to defeat trainers that thought they could win as long as they had something effective against fire-types.

Golduck quacked angrily when he was released. He glared at Blaine and Rhydon before turning to Ash.

"This is a gym battle!" Ash shouted, hoping that the statement would get Golduck pumped up. "If you want to show how strong you are, now's the time!"

The water-type suddenly tensed up and prepared to fight. Ash grinned at that. It looked like Golduck would come through for him in this battle.

"A water-type. How predictable!" Blaine sneered. "You'll find that your victory isn't as easy as you think."

Ash frowned as the powerful rock-type stretched. It yawned as it looked at Golduck with a disinterested expression. Golduck quacked and prepared to move.

"Hydro pump!" Ash ordered, starting the battle off. He remembered the sheer physical force of the last rhydon he had fought and added "Keep it away!" as an afterthought.

Golduck quacked and followed Ash's command, rearing his head back and spitting a powerful jet of water at Rhydon.

"Rock blast." Blaine said sharply. Several rings formed around Rhydon's huge body before forming into large stones. Rhydon quickly hurled them into the water, blocking it and preventing most of it from even touching the rock-type. One went around the hydro pump and slammed into Golduck, sending the water-type to the ground. "Now use take down. Knock it off the platform."

Rhydon roared and charged at the fallen Golduck. Ash frantically shouted out commands.

"Aqua pulse. Knock it off with aqua tail!" Ash ordered. Golduck quacked and quickly formed a blue ball in his hand and blasted it towards Rhydon. It slammed into the rock-type and formed a huge wave that slowed Rhydon down and caused it to stumble as it neared Golduck. The water quickly burned away into steam when it touched the platform.

Even then Rhydon was too close to avoid. The confused rock-type was still charging at Golduck, but it had slowed down enough that Golduck was able to stand up and jump away before slamming his short tail that was suddenly covered with a spiral of water into the passing Rhydon.

It didn't knock Rhydon over the edge or even knock it over, but it did throw Rhydon off course and send it away from Golduck. Golduck quickly fired a water gun into its back, although it did little. Ash glared at Golduck for acting without his permission but came up with a strategy during the short break.

Blaine's Rhydon lacked the pure power and size of the rhydon he had fought before, but it was still too durable for him to defeat through ordinarily means. Not with Golduck, anyway. The only way he would win was if he either switched pokemon – which he didn't want to do – or knock it into the bubbling magma. He didn't feel guilty about the strategy since rhydon were capable of living in magma, their stone hides granting them an immunity to it.

"Earthquake!" Blaine suddenly commanded. Rhydon roared and pulled its massive foot up, preparing to slam it down and send shockwaves blasting throughout the suspended battlefield. Ash knew he had to act fast.

"Confusion! Throw it off the platform!"

Golduck thankfully followed his command. With bright, glowing eyes he stared at Rhydon, enveloping the behemoth with a blue aura. He did his best to stop the beast, but the foot went down and a massive wave of force travelled through the ground, quickly throwing Golduck off of his feet. The disobedient water-type managed to throw Rhydon to the very edge of the platform before his concentration shattered.

Blaine didn't seem to particularly care about the battle. Ash suspected that this was just to test him and see if he was a worthy challenger. The man was a highly skilled trainer, but he'd barely used Rhydon to do anything.

"Use thunderbolt!" Blaine barked. Rhydon roared and slowly became enveloped in running, writhing currents of electricity. Small arcs of it jumped off every now and then as the rock-type leisurely charged the attack.

"Hydro pump!" Ash cried, realizing that this would spell the end for Golduck. Golduck almost didn't obey – Ash saw that he seemed to struggle with the command – but shot a powerful blast of water from his mouth just as Rhydon fired off the thunderbolt.

The thunderbolt was aimed to meet the hydro pump in midflight. While it wouldn't stop the attack the lightning would be greatly amplified by being conducted through the water. Combined with Golduck's great weakness to electricity in the first place, it ensured that the water-type would be taken out of the battle.

And it worked. Golduck shuddered and twitched as the huge amount of electricity coursed through his body before collapsing, clearly knocked out. But the hydro pump did its job as well. Ash knew that it wouldn't knock Rhydon out, but it carried enough force behind it to knock the huge pokemon off of the edge.

Both trainers quickly recalled their pokemon, now with more of an understanding of each other's abilities. Ash figured that Blaine won out in this situation – he knew more about how Ash worked without revealing too much about his own skills.

"Looks like you aren't too weak after all!" The old man laughed with another pokeball in hand. "But that was just a wake-up call. Get ready to feel the burn!"

Ash frowned and placed Golduck's pokeball back on his belt. He looked down at Nidorino to see how his friend was doing. Nidorino was sweating, but looked more than ready to battle.

"You're up, buddy." Ash said. Nidorino growled in happiness and casually leapt the distance to the platform. He roared and extended his barbs, which were already leaking potent venom. The poison-type lowered his head and prepared to charge.

"I hope you're ready." Blaine grinned as he released his next pokemon. "This is the only one of my pokemon older than I am!"

A large, beautiful ninetales appeared on the field. It luxuriously stretched and yawned, unaffected by the intense heat. Ninetales looked at Nidorino with bored scarlet eyes, its shining golden fur glistening as it moved into a combat position.

"Fire spin." Blaine ordered, beginning the battle with the most powerful attack at Ninetales' disposal. Ninetales leapt forward with its elegant mouth wide open, exposing its fangs for a moment before releasing a huge stream of spinning red-orange fire with a yellow flame spiraling around it.

Nidorino quickly dodged without being told, knowing the attack would quickly end the battle against him. He quickly followed Ash's shouted order of, "Poison sting!" and launched dozens of small needles filled with poison towards Ninetales.

A quick burst of flame destroyed most of the barbs, but a small number struck their target and injected their venom into the fire-type. Nidorino squared off and prepared to attack again.

"Use confusion and get in close!" Ash ordered. Normally he would have had Nidorino just use confusion and then focus horn, but he suspected that even the shortest period of vulnerability would be exploited by Blaine. This Ninetales seemed to be the first pokemon Blaine would actually be using against him and, judging from the fire spin, it was packing a lot of power.

Nidorino charged while using confusion. Ash had had him and Dazed work on using the minor psychic attack while moving, preventing Nidorino from being a sitting duck while using it. His friend's eyes glowed a bright purple before enveloping Ninetales in a bright aura.

Ninetales didn't need a command to respond to the confusion attack. Its crimson eyes flashed brightly for a moment, easily breaking the psychic attack's power and sending the aura dissipating into nothingness.

"Incinerate." Blaine growled. Ninetales calmly reared its head back and blasted a huge stream of purple-blue flame towards the charging Nidorino. Nidorino barely leapt out of the way of the powerful attack, the flames nearly enveloping him. "Now quick attack to the side."

The fire-type blurred away a mere moment before Nidorino would have slammed into it, gracefully appearing on the other side of the battlefield. Nidorino quickly halted and barely managed to avoid going over the edge. He turned as fast as he could and resumed his charge.

"Flamethrower!"

"Use ice beam!" Ash said, a strategy forming in his mind. As Nidorino charged, he opened his mouth and fired the three beams of icy energy at Ninetales. They all landed just as Ninetales blasted the stream of orange flame from its mouth, causing the energy beams to shift into water and douse the Ninetales.

Now that the Ninetales was temporarily weakened, Ash used the chance to get focus horn ready. He shouted out the command, causing Nidorino to slow his charge as he amplified his strength with focus energy. Ash grinned as Nidorino resumed his charge, barreling straight into the stunned Ninetales.

Ninetales yelped as Nidorino's sharp horn jabbed it and threw it several feet backwards. Ash grinned when he saw that it was already growing more sluggish. It looked like Nidorino had managed to pump the Ninetales full of venom.

But Blaine wasn't done yet. "Ninetales, use fire race!"

Ash furrowed his brow. "Nidorino, get ready."

The fire-type suddenly flickered away, displaying surprising endurance. Despite the fact that it was poisoned, Ninetales still used quick attack. But it left a huge trail of fire wherever it went, quickly surrounding Nidorino in a circle of roaring flames and blasting his friend with some of them.

Ninetales suddenly appeared behind Nidorino, looking haggard but still able to battle. It suddenly jumped at Nidorino's back with bared fangs and a dawning orange glow in its mouth. Nidorino didn't need Ash's warning to respond – his sharp hearing enabled him to dodge the attack before Ninetales could land it.

"Ice beam!" Ash said. Nidorino quickly followed through, launching an ice beam at the surprised Ninetales' back. The ice beam did very little, as Ninetales' incredible body heat melted the thin layer of ice in an instant. But Ash wasn't done yet. "Now, thunderbolt."

Nidorino instantly complied, blasting a huge arc of electricity into the drenched Ninetales. Ninetales twitched and collapsed to the ground, clearly spent but not yet unconscious. Ash's friend quickly charged towards the fallen pokemon, intent on finishing it off.

"Overheat." Blaine said with a grin. Ninetales complied, using the last of its energy to blast the charging Nidorino with a huge release of flame. Nidorino survived the powerful attack, but was badly weakened. Ninetales was completely spent. Its head collapsed to the ground, finally unconscious.

"Good strategy, but you got stupid at the end." Blaine scolded as he recalled Ninetales. "Don't get close. There's always one last trick when everything else is lost. But I suppose it's time for my most powerful pokemon to make an appearance. I can guarantee that this pokemon is too hot to handle! And it has a power that should interest you – it turns all of its opponents into ash!"

Ash groaned at both of the puns. He had hoped that Blaine would stop making the terrible jokes during the battle, at least.

"I choose…Magmar!" Blaine roared, throwing his arms into the air for dramatic effect. Ash watched curiously as a huge wave of magma surged up into the air, remaining stable thanks to being controlled by an incredible power. A dark shape was suspended in the sheet of magma, barely visible through the molten rock.

Then it uncurled, allowing the magma to fall back into the volcano. Magmar hung suspended in the air through some power that Ash wasn't aware of, although he supposed it might be the minor psychic abilities he was informed of through the pokedex. Whatever it was, it was very impressive.

Magmar was a beast. It was old and battle-scarred, but it was no less powerful for it. The fire-type arrogantly glared down at Ash and Nidorino, staying stable in the air for a moment before lightly falling to the platform. Ash heard an audible sizzle as it touched the ground.

The absolutely massive Magmar looked powerful. It was even larger than Infernus and its hulking form wavered and shimmered in the volcano's heat. Ash knew that this thing would be brutal to fight.

He knew that he would have to switch to Infernus once Nidorino was defeated. There was no way Nidorino would be able to defeat Magmar in his current condition and none of his others would be able to battle it in these conditions. Dazed was too sensitive to the temperature, Plume was vulnerable to the heat it produced and its flames, Torrent would just flop around, and Golduck was out of the running.

But he knew that he and Nidorino would do their best to weaken it. Nidorino was tough and could take a few more hits before going down.

Blaine began the battle. "Fire punch!"

"Poison sting." Ash ordered. Nidorino managed to dodge the first fire punch and shot the poisonous pins into Magmar, but Magmar simply exploded with flame in order to destroy most of them before punching the tired Nidorino and sending him across the battlefield.

Ash frowned. After knowing Infernus for so long, he knew that the minor dose of toxins Magmar had received wouldn't do anything. Magmar just had too good of endurance and its high body heat would neutralize most of the venom before it grew into a problem. He had to try something else.

"Icebeam, then use thunderbolt!" He cried, hoping that he would be able to do some damage. Ash didn't think Infernus could defeat Magmar unless he managed to weaken it in some way first. Hopefully the trick would do something, even if Blaine could block the worst of it.

The ice beam didn't work out quite as well as he had hoped. Magmar simply caused flames to burst from his body in order to reduce the effect of the ice beam, although most of it just evaporated into steam instead of into water as he had hoped. But it was still better than the thunderbolt – the thunderbolt didn't do anything. Magmar just crossed its arms and somehow caused the thunderbolt to diffuse into nothingness.

Nidorino was just as shocked as he was and stumbled a little bit before trying again. Magmar just had a sadistic look on its face as Nidorino attempted the ineffectual attack.

Ash quickly raced through everything he had learned about magmar in a wild hope to understand what was going on. He couldn't think of anything for a few moments, but then he remembered reading a minor note about an ability called "Air Lens" that particularly well-trained and powerful magmar could learn. Although he couldn't remember how it worked, he knew that it wasn't too big a surprise that Blaine would have taught Magmar that trick.

Blaine just grinned widely. "Flamethrower."

Magmar quickly launched a huge stream of white-hot flame from his mouth, bathing the entire battlefield with the powerful attack. Ash cried out in concern for Nidorino, but when the flames cleared he could see that Nidorino was still standing. Badly weakened and covered in soot, but able to battle just a bit longer.

"Horn attack!" Ash shouted, desperate to do at least some damage to the powerful Magmar. Nidorino grunted in exhaustion but leapt towards the nearby Magmar, ignoring the heat radiating from the fire-type and driving his horn into Magmar's stomach.

The fire-type grunted before grabbing Nidorino with burning hands and hurling him over the edge. Ash recalled Nidorino before he even began to descend down into the lava. He glared at Blaine, who didn't seem too concerned with Magmar's action.

"What?" The old man grinned. "I have systems in place for that kind of thing. Now get focused – this has been a good battle so far and I want to see what you've got."

Ash scowled and released Infernus. The powerful fire-type roared and stamped his foot as he was released. Magma blasted upwards from the lake at the bottom of the volcano, the molten rock showering the battlefield with the burning substance.

Blaine had a wide grin on his face as he observed the display. Magmar roared in return, sending a massive stream of white-hot flame bursting from his mouth, reaching high up into the air before dissipating. The display of strength didn't tire it at all.

Infernus roared and tensed up, awaiting Ash's commands. Ash smiled at that. It was nice knowing that Infernus liked and respected him enough to hold back his own battle-lust and frenzied instincts.

Ash began the battle, seeking to begin on the offensive. "Clear smog!"

Infernus quickly heeded the command, squaring himself before spewing torrents of white smog from his mouth, spreading it all over the battlefield. Thankfully for Ash it wasn't so opaque as to obscure his view of the arena.

The smog would hopefully weaken the older Magmar. It wouldn't do much and could probably be burned up relatively quickly, but it would drain Magmar's strength for a while.

"Fire Combat!" Blaine commanded as he crossed his arms. Magmar quickly wreathed itself in flame and charged at Infernus, using what Ash recognized as a flame charge. That meant that Blaine was using some sort of combination.

"Dodge and fire punch." Ash shouted. Infernus sidestepped at the last possible moment and sent a burning fist into Magmar's side. But Magmar managed to twist out of the way and used both fists to attack Infernus with its fire punch.

Infernus easily dodged the attacks and retaliated with his own fire punch. Ash noticed that Infernus was incredibly fast in the volcano. While never slow aside from in the Caverns, right now he was moving at an unprecedented speed. He supposed that the information about magmar moving faster in high temperatures wasn't an exaggeration.

Unfortunately, Magmar was sped up as well. It dodged just as many attacks as Infernus did and retaliated with an unending barrage of fire punches. The flames did little to either magmar, but the force behind the two fire-types' punches dealt a moderate amount of damage.

Ash noticed that Magmar was slowly winning. Its punches were stronger, its attacks faster. Infernus was slowly being pushed back towards the edge, although he was dealing quite a bit of damage to his foe himself.

But at the same time Ash could see that Nidorino had managed to pump his powerful venom into Magmar. Magmar was growing more and more sluggish, allowing Infernus to almost match the well-trained fire-type. Still, it was clear that Infernus would be defeated long before the toxins completed their work.

Blaine seemed content to let Magmar and Infernus' fierce battle rage on without his interference. He obviously had confidence in his pokemon's abilities.

Ash frowned. Blaine had more experience with magmar than he did. If Blaine thought that Magmar would win, then Magmar would win. Unless, of course, Ash decided to shift the battle and give Infernus a bit of rejuvenation.

"Flamethrower! Then use fire punch!" Ash ordered, finally interrupting the brutal duel. Infernus leapt back and roared at Magmar, releasing a huge blast of flame as he did so. The flames washed over Magmar, doing little other than distracting it.

Infernus roared again and rushed forward, slamming his fist into Magmar's chest and sending the other fire-type stumbling backward. His friend tried to continue the attack, but it seemed that Blaine had had enough.

"Giga impact!" The gym leader roared. Magmar quickly recovered when it heard the command and tensed up before charging. Yellow-orange energy covered its body and a sphere of purple energy surrounded Magmar.

Magmar suddenly rushed forward at an incredible speed, catching both Ash and Infernus off guard and throwing Infernus off of the platform. Ash cried out in worry for his friend, but a statement from Blaine cut him off.

"It'll be fine." Blaine said dismissively. "Your magmar is just trapped down there. I'll have mine fish it out in a few minutes. Good job, though. I almost thought you would beat me for a –"

Then the entire volcano rumbled. Both of the trainers' attention snapped to the lava lake, which was bubbling and shaking, sending waves of heat upward. Ash winced at the heat but continued watching.

He stumbled backwards in surprise when a massive wave of magma blasted upwards, given form by a will born of rage and pain. Ash shielded his eyes and watched in awe as Infernus revealed himself, completely rejuvenated thanks to the magma and completely enraged.

His friend launched himself out of the large column of molten rock, slamming into Magmar with incredible force and sending the surprised fire-type crashing to the ground. Before Magmar could recover, Infernus roared and began to savagely slam his fists into his foe over and over again, although Magmar's incredible endurance allowed it to resist and do a bit of damage to Infernus.

"Clear smog!" Ash shouted, seeing an opening. Infernus quickly followed through, spitting the thin, opaque smog directly into Magmar's face. It roared and began thrashing as it breathed in the toxins, using all of its dwindling strength in an attempt to struggle free from Infernus.

Unfortunately, the poison that Nidorino had injected into it had begun taking effect for a while now. The wild struggle was only causing Nidorino's toxins to work faster, pumping through the hot blood with increasing frequency. In turn, Magmar's monumental endurance was whittled down and its struggles were slow and sluggish despite the beneficial environment.

"Confuse ray!" Blaine snapped, a wide frown splitting his face. Magmar's eyes glowed as it began to access the power, but Ash had his own reply.

"Hit him."

Infernus' eyes lit up brightly at that remark, and almost seemed to smile as he brought his fist directly onto Magmar's burning forehead. The older fire-type grunted and collapsed again, stunned from the powerful blow.

After that, Ash let Infernus have his fun. Infernus didn't have anything that would be more effective on Magmar than ordinary kicks and punches – the flames of a fire punch did more to help Magmar than hurt it – and quickly began to beat Magmar. Magmar constantly spit and struggled, sending massive streams of flame bursting into Infernus' face to little avail.

Still, Magmar refused to go down. Their tremendous endurance, only heightened by their proximity to the volcano, allowed each to take blows far more powerful than they normally could. Infernus had the edge now, though.

Even Infernus got bored of the slug-fest after a minute or so. Through a combination of the toxins coursing through its body and the injuries it had suffered during the battle, Magmar was putting up little fight, in turn leaving Infernus with little fun.

So his friend stood up, ignited the entire sky with a huge flamethrower, and slammed his shackled foot into Magmar's chest. The older magmar roared in pain and renewed its struggles. Another stomp from Infernus stopped the newfound resistance in its tracks, however, and Infernus slammed his other foot to the ground.

While it did nothing to actually contribute to the dwindling fight, the display Infernus put forth was quite impressive and helped to show just who had the dominance in this particular battle. When he stamped his foot to the ground, the entire magma lake trembled and bubbled before exploding upwards, surging and staying in the air for a few moments before sluggishly dropping back down to its previous position.

Infernus roared and allowed flames to burst from his entire body, an instinctual show of dominance over powerful foes. Ash just grinned at his friend, seeing that Magmar had slackened and fallen unconscious.

Blaine returned Magmar with a wide, manic grin on his face. He looked over at Ash and quickly walked over, although he released Magmar into the lava . Ash patiently waited for the old man to meet him, allowing Infernus to continue roaring in celebration of his victory. His friend deserved it.

"Well, looks like you aren't weak after all." Blaine laughed when he finally reached him. He dug around in his pocket and pulled out the Volcano Badge. "I haven't had to give one of these out in a while, but I think you deserve it."

Ash gladly took the badge, taking a moment to examine it. It was red and shaped like a flame. A small pink diamond was embedded in the center, surrounded by the glossy red material.

"I would have crushed you in my younger days." Blaine mused. "But those are long gone. Congratulations."

"Thanks." Ash replied as he pocketed the badge. "How has anyone else gotten this badge if you hide down here?"

Blaine snorted. "They don't, obviously. I get maybe three challengers a year, and usually only one manages to beat me. Most are just idiots playing around in the hot springs."

Ash nodded thoughtfully, but Blaine cut his thoughts off.

"Here's some advice: You're good and your pokemon are strong, but you can be better. I don't know much about that Nidorino, but your golduck was terrible. That rhydon was a baby and she still crushed it."

He frowned. "Golduck is new. I'm still trying to catch him up."

Blaine snorted again. "And you used it in a gym battle? That's stupid. But I don't really care. What I want to talk about is that Magmar of yours. Infernus, I think you called it?"

At Ash's silent nod, he continued. "That magmar is powerful. It probably has the same amount of power behind it as mine and knows how to use it. But its technique is pathetic. If Magmar hadn't been poisoned, I would have wiped the floor with you. Teach it some techniques besides those blasts and Clear Smog. Unpowered punches aren't going to cut it against a real opponent in the Conference – you need someone that can help teach it."

Ash nodded again, grateful for the advice even if it was something he'd begun to notice himself. "Thanks for the advice."

Blaine smirked. "You're welcome. But I'm willing to make a deal with you. You aren't as completely useless as most of the people I've met lately, and I consider magmar to be my specialty, so I'm going to extend a training offer. When you're done getting your badges, come back here for a few days. I'll help your Magmar shape up so it won't be a complete disgrace to the species."

A wide grin shaped on Ash's face, awe overshadowing everything else in his mind. He was being invited to train with a former member of the Elite Four, even if it was only for a few days! That was a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

The gym leader seemed to take that as a yes. "I'll give you two days to train with me. Don't bother trying to call – just show up. Anyways, this isn't just for you." He said with a dangerous grin. "Magmar here wants a rematch just as much as I do."

Ash blinked when an explosion of magma erupted from the lake, Magmar's distinctive shape shadowed and blurred inside the protective cocoon of molten rock. A moment later the floating magma fell back to the lake, leaving only a floating Magmar in its wake. It gave a mockery of a grin towards Ash, which Ash hesitantly returned.

Infernus suddenly roared, blasting a stream of flame at Magmar. The fire-type, who seemed to have been fully healed by the short amount of time spent in the magma, casually absorbed the burst of flame. Magmar didn't even bother retaliating.

"It's all right! The battles over, Infernus." Ash shouted to his friend. Infernus roared and seemed enraged by the presence of Magmar. He didn't attack, but quickly leapt from the suspended battlefield over to the large ring of rock. When he took his position next to Ash he calmed down a bit, although he still glared at Magmar. "Hey, good job. You did great."

His friend roared in response and spat a small blast of flame into the air. Blaine and Magmar just snorted, unimpressed by the display.

"Well, you've got your badge now." Blaine said in a friendlier tone. "Run along. I'll let you stay one more night for free. Anymore than that and you're paying for everything."

Ash blinked.

"Well, I've got to stay in business somehow." Blaine said, cackling at the look on Ash's face. "It's not as though I get many visitors. Or League funding, for that matter." He muttered with a scowl. "Bastards."

"By the way, next time you come here, I expect a hot battle." Blaine said before waving him off. Ash groaned at the pun but supposed he was lucky Blaine hadn't come up with a worse pun. That one was fairly minor in comparison, and anything was better than another riddle.

Ash went out the way he came. He returned Infernus before edging around the hot springs. His friend probably wouldn't bother going over the stone. Infernus would probably just walk through the hot water and turn it all into steam.

He gave himself a reminder to return to the hot springs tomorrow. While he wouldn't be getting in, he knew that Nidorino and Golduck would probably enjoy it. Infernus could just take a short bath in the lava lake if it turned out that he was injured.

But he didn't really pay attention to much else than that as he walked back into the hotel. It was getting late, and the fierce battle with Blaine had worn him and his pokemon down. Golduck would be fine in the morning and hadn't sustained any serious injuries, so he didn't need to rush to the Pokemon Center.

The trainer pulled out his PokeNav and checked the time. It was nearly nine. Ash shrugged. While it was almost as early as he'd gone to bed yesterday, he didn't care that much. He'd had a busy day and was completely worn out. His pokemon were probably just as bad.

Ash didn't even bother getting dinner. He was sure he'd hate himself for it in the morning, but for now he just wanted to sleep. Something about the volcano's heat had just drained him completely, taking any energy that he hadn't used in his long search during the day.

He released Dazed and Nidorino. Nidorino was still unconscious, so Ash released him onto the bed. Dazed looked at him with questioning, sleepy eyes and cocked her head to Nidorino.

"We found the gym." Ash said tiredly, although a grin spread his face as he thought of his victory. "It was a hard battle, but we managed to pull out a win."

Dazed cocked her head at him, clearly expecting the location. Ash grinned.

"It turned out that we were pretty close to it the entire time. You know those hot springs behind the hotel?" Dazed nodded slowly, her expressive eyes narrowing as she realized what he was aiming at. "Well, it turns out that Blaine hid a secret door to his gym inside it. The door led to the inside of the volcano."

His friend froze. Ash smiled. "That was about my reaction. Anyways, do you want to know anything else? I'm about to go to bed."

Dazed looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking her head. She stared at him for a moment as he plopped down into the bed, pausing only long enough to take off his shoes and jacket and to pull the sheets up a bit so he could slip in.

The psychic-type cocked her head at him for a moment before turning and staring out the window. Ash watched his friend stay like that for a while before exhaustion and fatigue suddenly piled onto him as if from nowhere and sent him into a deep sleep.

XX

A freezing splash of water woke Ash up. He sputtered and tried his best to twist out of the cocoon his sheets had formed around him, wildly flailing all the while. Ash coughed and glared up at the old man that was standing by his bed with a bucket in hand and a smirk on his face.

"Get up." Blaine barked, his tone belying the grin on his face. "You have company."

Ash frowned and continued glaring at the man, although his interest was peaked. He quickly untangled himself from the soaked sheets and put his jacket that was lying crumpled on the floor on. "Who is it?"

"You'll see." Blaine grinned, casually throwing the bucket onto the ground with a loud clang. Ash scowled at him. "Hurry up. This is important."

The trainer continued to glare at the old man as he walked out, leaving a dripping, annoyed trainer behind him. Ash sighed and looked over at Nidorino. His friend was still in a deep sleep, apparently more tired than Ash had thought. While he hadn't been knocked unconscious last night, Nidorino had still been in a tough fight and taken a good deal of damage. It wasn't a surprise he was so out of it.

But for the moment he glanced around for Dazed. She should have stopped Blaine from throwing that water on him. All of his friends tended to be protective over him, and Dazed had proven to be no exception to the rule.

She wasn't there, although her pokeball was still empty. Ash shrugged it off, supposing that she was probably looking around. Dazed had never gotten the chance to properly explore the hotel, although, now that he thought of it, he hadn't seen the upper floors either.

Oh well, he thought. Right now he just needed to get dry. He wouldn't forget this little trick. Hopefully he would be good enough to get some payback on Blaine when he came back here to train.

Ash quickly pulled out the spare set of clothes that were practically identical to his ordinary set and put them on in the bathroom. He didn't bother drying his hair with one of the towels. If everything went to plan he would be leaving in an hour or two anyways, so it didn't really matter what he looked like.

He left Nidorino dozing on the bed. Nidorino had earned the rest, and Ash wasn't one to take that from him.

The trainer was curious about who could possibly be looking for him. There weren't that many people he'd gotten to know very well during his journey. Most people he met were just good for quick battles before he moved on. The two that he had gotten to know quite well were traipsing around Kanto themselves now, far from him.

But when he entered the main room, he froze. Steven Stone was casually sprawled out in one of the chairs, easily chatting with Blaine. Blaine actually seemed quite animated, and from what Ash could make out they were talking about technology of some sort.

"Steven? What are you doing here?" Ash questioned, making his presence known to the two men. Steven snapped his focus to Ash and he smiled reservedly.

"Hello to you too, Ash." He replied easily. "I'm sorry to say that I'm not here to make small talk."

"What do you mean?" Ash asked, still surprised at the Champion's appearance. "And how did you find me?"

The Champion smiled. "Someone we both know – Professor Oak. Normally he wouldn't tell me your location and I wouldn't ask, but when I let him know what a pressing matter this was he told me that you were heading to Cinnabar. One of my friends in the League called up Blaine here and asked him about you yesterday, although my friend said that he talked to you last night as well."

Ash took on a puzzled expression, trying to remember the name of the stranger that had given him the gym's location. "Wataru?"

"That's one of his names." The Champion replied with a grin. He looked as though there was some hidden joke that Ash hadn't quite gotten yet. "Anyways, back to business."

Steven sighed and his face became hard, shifting from Steven to the former Champion of Hoenn. "I've tracked down someone that we both have had trouble with. Normally I wouldn't ask anyone other than a gym leader or a member of the Elite Four to accompany me on this venture, but I thought that you were strong enough to stay safe and had more of a right to bring him in than anyone else."

Ash's face grew pale as the blood drained from it. "You found Pierce?" He whispered, white-hot hatred flashing through him as he thought of the Rocket Executive. His fists curled up into balls and he could feel the bite of his nails into his skin.

"Indeed." Steven replied, looking no more pleased about the Executive than Ash. "He's hiding in the Sevii Islands, where he's serving as the commander of a Rocket branch. We were going there anyway to stamp them out before they could get a foothold in the islands, but when I discovered Pierce was there I decided to see if you wanted to come."

"Of course I do!" Ash said. His voice was determined and as strong as he could make it even as flashbacks to a drowning ship ran through his mind. "I'll do anything to help out."

The Champion nodded. "Good. I won't be placing you into direct danger, but you'll be in the fighting. From what Blaine has told me, your pokemon are more than ready for the task. In fact, they've been sufficient for a while now, if the reports from Celadon are anything to go by. Good work, by the way." Steven added. Ash nodded his thanks and smiled. The Champion quickly continued, however. He leaned forward with his clasped hands and serious eyes.

"I'm not going to lie to you. This is going to be dangerous. You know what Pierce is capable of more than anyone. He won't be a danger to the three of us, but you need to be prepared."

That's when Ash realized something. "The three of us? Someone else is coming?"

Steven grinned, letting his hard exterior crack a little. "Indeed. I think you've already met."

A large, burly man suddenly ducked up through the stairs that led to the hot springs. Ash instantly recognized him as Wataru, and the man nodded at him with a grin. His cape flared out dramatically behind him, showing that a row of six pokeballs lined his waist.

"Ash, here's our other companion. You would probably know him better by his first name and title: Lance, Champion of Indigo Plateau and Master of the Indigo Elite Four."


	9. Chapter 9: The Sevii Islands

**A/N: Executive Pierce is in this chapter. I'm sure I don't really have to explain this to any of you, but it's going to be dark. Nothing too bad, but it's noticeably darker from the rest of the story aside from the other chapters featuring Pierce.**

**Anyways, enjoy the chapter!**

Ash froze and stared at the Champion with an awed expression on his face, finally realizing why he had thought he recognized the man. He'd watched every single one of the Champion's rare battles against unlucky challengers for the past two years, awed at the sheer power his pokemon displayed and imagining himself battling the legendary trainer.

For that was what Lance was to the majority of Kanto. As the Champion he was their greatest protector, the leader against terrorists and crime syndicates like Team Rocket and their ilk. He was the greatest trainer of both Kanto and Johto, the best of the best. Lance was a heroic figure, rarely appearing on camera when not battling or when giving a report on the most recent cell of Team Rocket that had been destroyed or arrested.

He had never actually thought he would meet the Dragon Master, not anywhere outside of Indigo Plateau. Ash tried to say something to the idol of almost every trainer in the Indigo League, but the words caught in his throat and died.

Lance didn't seem to have that problem. He gave Ash a grin and held his hand out. Ash shakily shook it, doing his best to keep from looking stunned.

Ash noticed that Lance's large hand was covered with thick, calloused skin. It looked like the Champion trained himself along with his monstrously powerful pokemon.

"How's it going?" Lance asked amicably, not appearing to be the powerful force he truly was. "Sorry about messing with you yesterday, but I try not to broadcast my real identity when I'm incognito."

"Of course." Ash stammered with wild eyes, still barely believing that he was talking to _Lance_. Steven was a former Champion, yes, but Ash hadn't been bombarded with tales of Steven's heroism for the last seven years. Lance was much closer to home.

Lance nodded and turned to Steven, still grinning. "When are we leaving? We need to get to the Sevii Islands as soon as possible."

Steven looked thoughtful for a moment. "I say we leave the hotel as soon as possible. The boat is already waiting, so we'll be able to leave quickly. I've already showed the authorities here my authorization, so everything will be cleared out."

"Good." Lance said, nodding in satisfaction. "Those Rockets need to be stopped as soon as possible." His voice suddenly shifted into a joking manner. "You know, Steven, we could get there in just under an hour if we flew on my dragonite."

The Hoenn Champion frowned and went pale. Ash thought he almost looked queasy. "No thank you. I'd prefer for my feet to stay firmly on the ground, or at least on something solid. I remember that last time – I was sick for hours."

Lance laughed loudly and turned his attention to Ash. His face lost the wide grin and became much more serious. "How good are you at battling, Ash? Steven's told me that you'll be able to hold your own, but I'm still not comfortable bringing an eleven year old on this mission."

Ash snapped out of his daze. "I've fought Rockets before. I cleared out all of the grunts in that base in Celadon."

The Champion raised an eyebrow. "That was you? Good work."

"I already told you that. Ash was on the St. Anne as well. He'll be fine." Steven said as he leaned back in his chair. Ash noticed that Blaine was watching the interactions with keen eyes, observing every little movement and noise. "Rockets are hardly a challenge. I expect that Ash will be able to hold his own perfectly fine. He won't be a burden."

Ash felt a surge of thanks towards Steven for backing him up. He could understand why Lance would be nervous about bringing him along, but Ash knew that he would be able to keep up. He had to. Pierce needed to be served justice and Ash wanted to be one of the people that brought it to him.

Lance seemed a little more assured and slightly more confident, but still looked troubled. "I guess I can't say no. Just stay safe, Ash. Team Rocket isn't very powerful without terror on their side, but they are dangerous. I'm sure you know that better than anyone."

The trainer nodded with a frown on his face, recounting his run-ins with Team Rocket. Lance didn't need to tell him that.

Steven looked at Ash. "You should probably start packing. We'll leave the moment you're done."

Ash nodded and rushed off. He was far too anxious to get to the Islands and find Pierce to waste any time. Besides, he didn't want to hold the Champions up.

He noticed that Dazed was staring at him when he ran in. Ash smiled and nodded at her before he quickly gathered anything that he had left out. Most of it was fairly minor, consisting of things such as his extra pair of clothes that he had washed. They were dry, so he went ahead and stuffed them in the bag.

That was about it, really. Blaine had provided him with everything else he would need, so Ash never had to pull it out of his bag. Just to be sure, though, he searched the room one last time.

Dazed was looking at him oddly, so he hurriedly explained himself as he slung his pack around his shoulders and tidied up a bit.

"We're heading off to the Sevii Islands." He said as he passed her by. Her eyes widened. Apparently she recognized the name. "There are some Rockets there that we're helping to take care of."

His friend's eyes flickered a bright blue when he mentioned the Rockets, but she seemed more curious than anything else. Ash glanced over at her as he gently called out Nidorino's name. The exhausted poison-type was still asleep and didn't seem to want to get up.

He sighed and lightly poked his friend. Nidorino instantly leapt up. His horn was leaking a bead of poison and his barbs stood up on end. Nidorino's sensitive ears were standing at attention and he growled before looking at Ash.

"We're leaving, buddy. Do you mind going into the pokeball?"

Nidorino grunted and shook his head. He only paused to lightly butt his head against Ash's stomach before the trainer recalled him. A moment later Dazed disappeared in a flash of scarlet light as well.

Now that he had everything he needed Ash left the room. The three League officials were muttering and whispering to each other when Ash walked in but quieted down soon after.

"You're already done?" Steven asked in a surprised tone. "I thought you would be gone for quite a while."

Lance grinned and got out of his chair. "Not everyone is like Wallace, Steven. Most people don't have to bring four outfits and makeup everywhere they go."

Steven sighed and shook his head, although Ash could see a smile tugging at his lips. Ash thought that the Hoenn Champion seemed much more relaxed than any other time he had seen him. The Champion was always polite and pleasant, but there was always a tenseness and wariness about him that had lightened somewhat in the presence of the Indigo Champion.

"Well, let's get going." Steven said. He looked over at Blaine. "Thanks for helping us out. I'm sorry if we were a burden."

Blaine smirked. "It was no problem. It's not often that I get such prestigious guests." He swiveled and focused his eyes on Lance. "But if a certain someone wants to repay me with more than the bare minimum of funding, that would be great."

"See about actually telling trainers where your gym is and we'll talk." Lance replied easily, not batting an eyelash at Blaine's sarcasm. "Ash here is probably the only trainer that will be showing up at the Conference with the Volcano Badge."

The gym leader rolled his eyes. "I'm not about to be swarmed by a bunch of weaklings that aren't worth my time. I didn't become a Master just to crush newbie trainers that think they're half-decent."

Lance smiled. "Glad to see you haven't changed any, Blaine. Good luck with the gym."

Blaine shrugged his farewell off and left the building, leaving the two Champions and lone trainer alone. Steven looked slightly confused at Blaine's abrupt departure, but Lance seemed used to it.

"Don't worry." Lance said in an attempt to explain things to Steven. "That's downright friendly for him. If he didn't like us he'd give us a riddle."

Steven still seemed unsure, but figured it didn't matter. "Let's get going. It won't take too long to get to the town, but we need to be getting to Knot Island before sunset."

With that they left. Ash didn't feel too uncomfortable with the Champions, although he didn't think that he would be joining in their small talk anytime soon.

XX

An hour later Ash found himself on a small, fast boat in the middle of the ocean. The Champions had managed to bypass all of the customs and regulations for exiting ships with a flash of their identification, so they'd left Cinnabar barely thirty-five minutes after leaving the hotel.

An old, quiet sailor was in charge of getting them to the Sevii Islands. He wore a League uniform and refused to talk to Ash when the trainer had walked into the cabin. Ash wandered around the small ship for a while before returning to the deck. They had wonderful weather and he was determined to enjoy it.

The Champions had retreated to somewhere within the ship, so Ash was left alone. He didn't mind that much. There wasn't much he could contribute to whatever they were discussing and they would tell him later anyways.

Despite his excitement at being allowed to travel and fight with the Champions, Ash couldn't help feel a bit nervous. Aside from the obvious problem of Pierce – Ash realized that he didn't know anything about the Executive's actual abilities aside from the fact he was more than willing to kill his opponents – Ash didn't know what he would be doing.

It was clear that the Champions would be performing the riskiest operations. Ash wasn't sure if he was ready for the consequences of that anyway. He knew that, although the Champions would do their best to avert it, there was a high possibility that some of the grunts would be injured or even killed when dealing with Champion-level pokemon.

But he could help. He could at the very least make sure no one tried to attack the Champions from behind or do the things that the Champions didn't have time for. His pokemon were strong enough to do that.

He suddenly turned around. Ash could hear Lance and Steven's voices coming up behind him, although they weren't loud.

"We need to debrief you." Steven said suddenly, coming and sitting in one of the chairs that surrounded a small, shaded table. Lance took the last. "You don't need anyone to tell you that fighting Team Rocket is not a game. You've had more experience fighting them than most trainers."

Ash nodded.

"So I'll hurry on to the important things." Steven stated. "There are a few rules for you to follow. One: avoid direct danger whenever you can. I want you supporting and preventing Rockets from flanking us. The main action is too dangerous when dealing with our pokemon. Two: follow any command we give you, no matter how odd it may seem. Three: be careful."

He nodded again. All seemed like common sense. Steven continued.

"We are coming here to purge all Rocket activity in the Sevii Islands. There are a few League teams in the area already, but Pierce is considered dangerous enough and important enough to call us in. It doesn't hurt that all of us have a few bones to pick with him." Steven said with a dangerous smile. It was out of place on the normally calm man's face. "There is another member of the Indigo Elite Four taking care of the situation on Floe Island, but she's gathered some information on the Rockets."

If the Elite Four member was a she, Ash assumed that it was Lorelei. He didn't think that Agatha would be much for battling in the field anymore, although he knew that she was still a monster when it came to battling.

Lance began speaking now, his tone far more serious than it had been at the hotel. "There have been reports of four major operations. The first is on Knot Island, where a group of grunts have taken control of the town. The second is on Floe Island, where they've been interfering in the Icefall Cave and capturing Lapras. The third is on Knot Island as well, where they've been snooping around Mount Ember."

"Where's the last one?" Ash questioned after Lance didn't speak for several moments. The Champion had a frown on his face and looked troubled.

"We don't know what it is, really." He admitted, clenching his fists. "Their main base is known to be somewhere on Chronos Island, but we haven't had luck in finding it. The Rockets are just too strong there for the League forces to fight through. Even Lorelei can't battle her way through. That's what we're for."

Ash nodded, a little surprised. The Elite Four were by far the most powerful trainers in both Kanto and Johto. Even the winners of the Conference each year were oftentimes unable to defeat one of their members, although they tended to be around the same skill level. Each member of the Elite Four was practically a small army.

Lance grimaced. "Most of our forces are away from those islands as well, mopping up the Rockets that they have defeated. Not many of them can be spared for the liberation of the other islands, so, aside from a few scouts, we won't have much support. The one's that will be helping us won't be much for battling either."

He stayed quiet, letting the Champion speak. Ash had gotten over a bit of his awe at being around Lance, but he couldn't bring himself to interrupt the man.

"We're shutting down and investigating a few of their operations the day we arrive." Lance continued, slipping back into his official tone. "Knot Island will be where we land, so I'll be heading to Mount Ember to defeat the Rockets there. Steven is a bit more conspicuous than I am, so he will be heading to Chronos Island after we exit the ship."

"What am I going to be doing?" Ash asked, getting a little excited over the coming experiences. They would be dangerous, but he just wanted to fight Team Rocket.

"You'll be taking back the town on Knot Island." Lance replied. He looked pleased with Ash's objective. "It's a small town, but important. There are only a dozen Rockets holding the town, so it shouldn't be too difficult to do. When you beat them, I'm sure the townspeople will be glad to detain them. I'll be sending any League trainers I find to the town as well, so feel free to explore the island once you're done."

Ash's interest peaked at that. He knew that the Sevii Islands contained many pokemon that were found only in Johto, although the tropical climate also allowed pokemon rare in Kanto such as tangela to be somewhat common in the islands. It would be nice to see if he could add an uncommon pokemon to his team.

"How much longer until we get there?" Ash asked. He knew that the Sevii Islands weren't too far from Cinnabar, and they had left quite early. Still, he would like to know just how long he would have to complete his task.

Steven glanced at his watch. "I'd say another hour and a half. We're making good time."

Ash nodded and sank back into his chair. The Champions continued to make small talk for a while before falling silent themselves, each of the trainers thinking about the coming conflict, thinking of what they would do and how they would react to threats.

They sat in silence for a long time, but eventually Lance stood up. He shrugged his muscular shoulders and stretched.

"We should all start getting ready." He said. "Ash, get moving. You don't want to be tight in the middle of a battle. Not around Rockets, anyways. They'll be aiming for you."

Ash nodded and stood up, although he felt a little self-conscious as he began to walk around, stretching his arms and legs and loosening up. When he noticed that the Champions were doing their own exercises, he lost the slight feeling of awkwardness.

He tired of the exercises quickly and was glad when he felt the blood flowing through his body again. Lance told him to keep on walking around the ship. They were able to see the faintest outline of Knot Island and its massive, dormant volcano that rivaled Cinnabar's in size.

Ash made sure to keep on moving and took the time to let Nidorino out of his pokeball. His friend eyed the calm, glittering ocean with distrusting eyes – a sentiment that Ash could understand perfectly, even if he had gotten over some of his trepidation regarding the sea – but followed Ash around and practiced a few of his attacks.

Just as the island grew near enough to where they could make out finer details, Lance came over. "Your Nidorino looks strong for the amount of time you've been training. What other pokemon do you have?"

"A pidgeot, seadra, hypno, magmar and golduck." Ash recited, naming his friends in the order he got them in. He frowned at the mention of Golduck. He had meant to trade the water-type out for Bruiser before he left Cinnabar, but had gotten caught up in the excitement. Hopefully Bruiser would understand, although he hoped that he could find somewhere to trade his friends out in the islands.

Lance's approving nod grabbed his attention though. "A decent team, especially when you gain more experience. I'll go ahead and tell you that Kingdra are particularly impressive, although I might be just a bit biased." He laughed. "Still, that should be more than sufficient for beating the grunts."

Ash grinned in return before he realized he had a question. "How am I supposed to reach you two when I'm done? Do I just wait around for you to come back?"

"Steven will take care of that." Lance assured them. He turned his head to the island, which was getting steadily closer. Ash estimated that they had about ten minutes before landing. "He has all the communication system ready, you just need to join it." The Champion looked over at the island again with a frown. "Sorry, Ash, but I've got to go. I can't leave the ship when it lands. I'll attract too much attention with my friend."

He nodded. "Alright. Good luck."

"You too." Lance replied with a grin. He reached to one of the pokeballs on his waist and released the pokemon within. Ash's eyes widened when it took the massive, hulking form of Lance's famed dragonite.

Dragonite was a monster even for its powerful species. It stood at nearly eight feet tall, dwarfing even the Champion's large build. The dragon was covered in a thick armor of light orange scales, each about the size of Ash's hand. Its scales became lighter and more like bands on its chest and underbelly. Large, thin antennae sprouted from its large head, just a few inches above its large eyes. A small, barely noticeable horn jutted out from the top of its skull, centered between the antennae.

He noticed that, while it had become bipedal and gained limbs after its evolution from a dragonair, Dragonite still retained the basic serpentine shape. Its body was much thicker and basically formed of nothing but hard scales and powerful muscle, but the limbs seemed almost an afterthought.

Its wings were small and stream-lined, clearly meant for fast flying. They weren't as small as some illustrations made them out to be, however. The wings were just large enough to support the dragon's massive bulk and were still completely massive.

All in all, the pokemon looked incredibly powerful and nigh indestructible.

Ash realized that, considering this Dragonite was Lance's primary pokemon and the only one ever seen by the public eye, it was quite possibly the most powerful pokemon in all of Kanto and Johto. It could defeat his entire team without blinking even if they fought it all at once.

He had to admit that he was in awe of the incredibly powerful pokemon. It commanded respect and possessed an air of power and authority without doing anything at all. Ash could see why it was seen as an almost legendary pokemon. While it wasn't a force of nature like Articuno had been, it possessed an air of regal might that conveyed age, wisdom, and above all power.

Then it yawned widely, exposing large, sharp fangs, and lightly clapped Lance on the shoulder in a gesture of friendship. Lance grinned and patted his friend's hard, scaly hide before looking over at Ash.

"Ash, this is Dragonite. Dragonite, this is Ash. He's going to be helping us with Team Rocket."

Dragonite's eyes seemed to smile at him and it gave Ash a cheerful wave, unintentionally showing off its huge claws. Ash hesitantly waved back, giving Dragonite a small smile as he did so. Dragonite gave a wave to Nidorino as well, who replied with a friendly grunt.

Lance tapped it on the shoulder after they had introduced themselves and Dragonite lowered its back. The Champion easily leapt on, situating himself into a comfortable, safe area. As Dragonite tensed and prepared to fly off, Lance looked down at Ash.

"Good luck, Ash, and stay safe!" He called out an instant before Dragonite blasted off the boat at an incredible speed, its powerful legs propelling it high into the air before a few flaps of its wings, which seemed to have grown a bit while flying, took it even further. Just a few seconds later the duo was gone.

Ash groaned and pulled himself up. The powerful wind that resulted from Dragonite's wings had knocked him down. Nidorino had a similar experience. He grunted as the poison-type stood back up, clearly a bit annoyed at the experience.

"I suppose Lance has left, then?" Steven asked from behind Ash, coming up from the inner area of the ship. "He always was a show-off."

He couldn't help but grin at that. "Won't the Rockets notice a dragonite?"

Steven smiled, a bit more cheerful than usual. "They won't have time to do anything even if they do. Dragonite might look bulky, but he's quite fast. He can sense them and paralyze them with a thunder wave before they can do anything." He stated, waving Ash's concerns away. "Anyways, we're about to land, so I need to get your PokeNav number."

Ash quickly gave it to him. He had memorized the device's identification number the day he got it. It wasn't as though he had much else to do while laying in the hospital. This was the first time he had had cause to use it, though, so he had to think for a few moments.

The former Champion quickly put the number into his own PokeNav. "Good. I'll call you soon so you can put my number in. Call me if you need anything or when you're done. I don't know if Lance has told you yet, but a few Rangers and League scouts will come to assist you whenever he finds them."

"Thanks." Ash replied. "What do I do with the Rockets after I'm done with them? Lance said the islanders would probably help and that the League trainers would detain them, but I'm not sure if I want to just leave them."

"They'll be fine. You have a hypno, right?" Steven asked. When Ash nodded the Champion continued. "Just have it put them into a deep sleep. That way they'll be unconscious for a few hours and will be too weak to try to escape for the rest of the day."

Ash nodded his understanding. He'd planned to do that anyways, but it was nice knowing that it was supported by Steven. Dazed had much more powerful psychic abilities since evolving, so it wouldn't be too much of a drain on her to put a couple of humans to sleep.

Steven looked over at the island with narrowed eyes. The beach that they were landing at was less than a minute away.

"The town is easy to find. It's about five minutes if you follow the beach to the west." Steven informed him. "Try to keep a low profile and keep an eye out for any grunts. From what we've seen, they're in plain uniform."

"Why?" Ash asked, puzzled at the odd choice. It would just make it easier for someone such as himself to differentiate them from the islanders.

Steven frowned, the slightest flash of annoyance dashing through his eyes. "The Sevii Islands aren't officially a part of the Indigo League, so the Rockets are free to operate in the open. The people here are too independent and isolated to mount an effective resistance, and the Rockets have cut off most of the communication. The Rockets have nothing to fear from them and don't expect us to enter Knot Island yet."

He nodded, understanding it well enough. Ash didn't have much of a head for political stuff, so he was glad that Steven had left any of that out. But he understood tactics quite well. Steven's explanation made sense.

The boat suddenly slowed before coming to a stop. Steven glanced down at Ash. "We can't land on the beach." The former Champion explained. "The boat has to get out of here quickly. Good luck."

"Thanks." Ash nodded. A narrow plank fell from the side of the ship, sending up a spray of salt water when it landed. He carefully walked down the plank and onto the damp sand of the rough beach. His shoes got a little wet, but he didn't care that much. He would need new ones soon anyways.

Nidorino grunted and walked up beside him. Ash knelt down and patted his friend on the head before looking back at the ship. The plank had already been raised and the ship was already leaving. Steven gave him a nod before the ship began to speed up, quickly taking it far away from his eyes.

He turned and looked out at the beach. It was a long stretch, probably half a mile long. The sand was rough and gritty. Some of it was black, giving the crushed stone a much darker appearance. All in all it was about what he'd been expecting. No one had ever claimed the Sevii Islands were resorts.

Ash quickly released Dazed, Plume and Torrent. He needed Dazed to be ready at any moment, so he didn't want to waste any time keeping her in her pokeball. Plume could hopefully give him an exact number on the grunts and where they were located, although she would be good for protecting him from any sneaky Rockets as well. Torrent would be useful to keep any Rockets from trying to escape on a boat and would probably be able to take down any Rockets and their pokemon positioned around the shoreline.

While Infernus was more than powerful to effortlessly defeat the grunts, Ash didn't want to use him for this battle. Nidorino could do the same job just as well as Infernus, particularly when he was supported by the rest of his friends. Besides, Nidorino was much more discreet. Infernus tended to be quite loud and obvious.

Golduck had performed decently in the gym battle, but Ash didn't trust him enough to use him in something like this. He was too brash and arrogant to use stealth, so he would probably just attack anyone he saw.

Plume tried to call out her standard greeting, but Ash placed a finger to his lips.

"I'm glad to see you to." He said, assuring her that he wasn't being rude. "But we're going to fight some Rockets. I need all of you to be as quiet as you can. I want to surprise them."

His friend's eyes flashed with rage as he spoke of the hated organization, but she understood. Ash smiled at her and gave her instructions.

"I need to know how many there are. They're all in their uniforms, so they should be easy to spot. Just come back when you've found as many as you can." He told his friend. Plume cooed softly before blasting off into the air with a single beat of her powerful wings.

Ash watched her go for a moment before turning back to the rest of his team. "Torrent, could you go hang around the harbor? I don't want any of them escaping on boats. Just use twister or make a whirlpool on any boats they use. Just head to your right for a few minutes and you'll find your way there."

Torrent snorted loudly in confirmation and flailed wildly. He had appeared in shallow water, so he had to flop around a bit before he got into water deep enough to swim in. A few seconds later he was off, sinking deep into the gently rolling waves.

"Dazed, you're going to be hypnotizing the Rockets and protecting Nidorino." Ash stated. His friend nodded, just the barest hint of excitement hiding behind her glazed eyes. "Nidorino, you're going to take down any pokemon that get too close. Plume and Dazed will help you out."

Nidorino grunted and butted his head against Ash's leg. Ash smiled and knelt, although he made sure to keep everything but his shoes off the sand. He didn't want to get sand in his clothes when he was about to fight Rockets. Any distractions might be dangerous.

He calmly waited for Plume to return, giving his remaining friends random comments. Ash wasn't really focused on the present, however. Most of his thoughts were based on strategies he could use against the Rockets. They wouldn't be very powerful, but he needed to avoid fighting them in groups. At the very least he would need to pick a few off before he did anything.

About ten minutes after she flew off, Plume returned. She gracefully landed a few feet in front of Ash before puffing her chest out. Ash smiled and nodded at her before becoming serious again.

"Steven said there were about twelve grunts. Is that right?"

Plume nodded.

"Are they all in the open?" He asked. While he was sure there would probably be one or two relaxing around in one of the few buildings in the small town, most would probably be keeping tabs on the villagers.

His friend nodded again.

"Did you see any sentries away from the rest?"

Plume chirped and nodded. "Good job, Plume! Can you show me where they are? I want to thin them out before we attack."

The great bird took off again, flying in lazy circles over their heads as Ash stood up. When he was ready to move she slowly headed in a direction. Since the forest next to the beach wasn't very dense he knew he would be able to easily keep track of her.

So he set off, Nidorino and Dazed by his side. He clenched his fists as he thought of the coming battle. Team Rocket was about to pay.

XX

A few minutes later they found the first Rocket sentry. It had taken longer than expected since Plume accidently flew ahead a few times, but all in all it was a smooth journey. Ash peered out from behind a few bushes and took a good look at the grunt.

He was leaning against a short, albeit thick, tree. An ekans was coiled up next to his foot and looked to be asleep. The grunt looked to be dozing as well. Apparently he wasn't expecting any threats.

Ash grinned. That worked out well for him. He looked over at Dazed, who quickly used her hypnosis attack. The pink swirls of energy quickly landed on both the trainer and pokemon, knocking them out for several hours.

"Good job." He said to his friend as he warily walked over. Plume hadn't shrieked or attacked, so he assumed that he was mostly alone. Nidorino was warily guarding him as he knelt next to the collapsed grunt and removed the two pokeballs from the grunt's belt. Ash returned ekans and dropped both of the pokeballs into his pack. The League could have them later.

He caught sight of Plume circling above them when he looked up and followed her. There were at least two more grunts serving as sentries, so he had some work to do.

When the grunt was taken care of, Ash set off. Nidorino and Dazed plodded behind him, Nidorino warily glancing around and twitching his ears and Dazed focusing on Ash.

XX

They repeated the process two more times. Ash's pack was almost full with the pokeballs now, so he'd put them into a storage compartment. That would make it harder for the Rockets to find them later if he got captured as well, so that was a nice perk.

The Rockets that he'd knocked out were both similar to the first in their level of vigilance. One had almost woken up from their nap, but a quick hypnosis from Dazed had kept him unconscious. They wouldn't be bothering anyone for a long time.

Now they were at the town. Ash was glancing on it from a cluster of trees that were overgrown with bushes. Nobody would find him unless they were looking in earnest.

Ash wasn't sure if this even constituted a town. While it was the only settlement on Knot Island that he knew of, it only looked to house about fifty to sixty people. He had heard that the Sevii Islands had a low population, but this was pushing it. Still, it only made sense. There was no way that the Rockets could have gotten away with taking over the town with only twelve grunts otherwise.

He could see four walking around, laughing and without a care in the world. About a dozen villagers were walking around in the area he could as well, although they gave passing grunts hateful looks and a wide berth. A few of the younger ones looked as though they wanted to attack the foreigners.

Unfortunately for the villagers, the two ekans, koffing and single arbok that menacingly hovered and sat around the Rockets. kept them from trying anything. Rocket pokemon had no inhibitions regarding the attack of human and would at the very least do serious harm to anyone that attempted to attack their handlers.

Ash was glad that Team Rocket had kept with their normal pokemon. Dazed would tear them apart. Even the arbok would be unable to challenge her new power.

He waited until the long, dirty street was almost clear of the villagers before giving his friends an order. "Nidorino, hit those Rockets with ice beam. Follow it up with a thunderbolt on the pokemon. Dazed, just use hypnosis on them. Use psybeam on any that resist."

Nidorino tensed up and opened his mouth. Cold radiated from it before he launched the three blue energy beams. Some of the pokemon detected the attack, but they had no time to do anything before the icy beams of energy slammed into three of the Rockets.

The last leapt in surprise and frantically looked around, but another weak cold energy beam slammed into him as well, the weakened version of the attack sending him to the ground in an unconscious state. All of the pokemon, unsure of what to do without their handlers' commands, looked around in confusion.

Dazed quickly released her hypnosis attack though, her evolved form's strength allowing her to put all of them into a deep sleep. Only the arbok remained awake, and the hypnosis had left it tired and confused. It reared up and hissed, but a psybeam from Dazed quickly put it down.

Ash stepped forward. Plume didn't call out at him, so he assumed the area was clear. He had told her to warn him if more Rockets approached.

All of the villagers that had been wandering around the street when he began him attack ran towards him with gleeful eyes, although a growl from Nidorino and the glowing eyes of Dazed kept them back.

"Who are you?" The first, a tall teenage girl, demanded. She didn't seem angry, just confused. "Where did you come from."

Ash didn't really feel like answering her questions. There were Rockets around and he didn't want to be ambushed.

"I'm here to fight the Rockets." He said shortly. The boys standing beside her had wide grins on her faces. "So please get out of my way. I have things to do."

She frowned and didn't let him pass, even when Nidorino menacingly stepped forward. "No way. You're way too young to battle them. They've got some pretty strong pokemon. My dad's all got beat easily."

"Mine are stronger." Ash said. He might have sounded arrogant, but he didn't care. All he wanted was for her to get out of the way so that he could do the job the Champions gave them.

"Let him through, sis." The boy on her left said. He was a few years older than Ash and was extremely tan. "If he's here to help then he's got to be strong enough. Let's just get those Rockets' pokeballs and hide them."

The teenager looked at Ash disapprovingly before letting him pass. He had an annoyed look on his face as he looked around for more Rockets. They had to be showing up soon. Ash barely paid any attention to the villagers that were running around.

Then Nidorino grunted and used thunderbolt. Once the bright flash of light was gone, Ash saw a long golbat fall from the sky. It landed with a heavy thump and was clearly unconscious, but otherwise it seemed to be okay.

"Thanks." He told Nidorino before glancing around. They'd taken down half of the confirmed Rockets and those villagers hadn't been very quiet. Ash wanted to be ready.

Nidorino grunted at him before returning to his wary state. His barbs were bristling and leaking their potent venom, clearly ready to attack anything that drew near.

Suddenly a group of three Rockets turned around a corner and saw him. They shouted in surprise and released all of their pokemon. Ash counted four ekans, two zubat, and two koffing. The one that appeared to be their leader released an arbok and a weezing. He assumed that he was the leader of these grunts.

"Return your pokemon and hand them over or we'll attack!" The leader shouted, clearly thinking that their numbers would be an advantage. He didn't seem unconfident in the least. "You can't win this."

Ash smiled and glanced over at Dazed. "Psychic."

Dazed's eyes shined luminously before a huge wave of telekinetic force erupted from her body. Ash saw her stone pendulum glow a bright blue as well and swing forward in the air as she used her power.

The uncontrolled blast roared through the air, carrying dust and loose objects on the road in its wake before slamming into the group of Rockets. His enemies were sent flying backwards before they landed heavily on the ground about ten feet behind them. None of them got up.

He turned around and nodded to his friends. That was nine of them. Only three Rockets were left to find, although he would have to look around and ask the villagers if there were any more just to be sure.

This was even easier than he'd expected it to be. He'd hardly expected a challenge since most Rocket grunts were barely trained and expendable, their real power lying in numbers and simple fear. They were obviously unaware of how to battle. If they were they wouldn't have clumped themselves together like that.

Maybe there would be trouble if there was an Executive directing the operation since they were highly trained and had a strong, varied team of pokemon, but apparently Knot Island wasn't important enough.

Suddenly he heard a loud, piercing cry from Plume and looked upward. His eyes widened and he jumped back as a feral looking zubat swooped down onto his former position with bared fangs, its rage too powerful for the minor burns the sun was giving it to dissuade it.

Another followed it, this one's fangs clamping down just a few inches in front of Ash as he jumped away again. They both fluttered up into the air on their purple, membranous wings and looked as though they were about to attack him again.

He kept his eyes on the twin zubat as he began to order Nidorino to use a thunderbolt. But Plume suddenly dived down from her lofty position, flapping her wings once to cause a huge, powerful gale of wind. Both zubat were dragged down to the ground and slammed into the earth by the attack, easily knocked out despite their aggressiveness.

"Thanks!" He called out to Plume as she swept past his head and began the climb back into the sky. She gave him a loud cry of acknowledgement as she sped upwards before disappearing into the light blue air.

Ash looked around and saw that a few villagers were coming out of their homes and small buildings and looking at him curiously. They didn't seem sure of what to make of him as many looked pleased with the piles of unconscious Rockets but looked at him oddly.

Nidorino suddenly perked up. His large ears twitched suddenly and he snorted at Ash. The trainer ignored the villagers' curious stares and glanced down at his friend.

"What do you hear?" He asked quietly, not wanting any of the villagers to overhear him. Ash didn't exactly like their stares. It put him on edge.

His friend just nodded towards the water and slowly trotted towards it. Ash jogged behind him, followed by Dazed's surprisingly quick shuffle. She stopped for a moment as they passed the Rockets they had just defeated and used hypnosis on the bunch before following Ash again.

They reached the small harbor in no time. It consisted of a single large boathouse with a company's emblem prominently placed upon it, a small beach, and four vessels bobbing outside the boathouse on the slow waves. A large building that looked modern and quite out of place in the small town stood proudly on a small, sloping hill.

Ash only had eyes for the small, fast-looking boat with the Rocket symbol starting up and racing away. It only had a single occupant, but Ash was unwilling to let the grunt escape.

"Thunderbolt!" He ordered, hoping that Nidorino had trained enough to be accurate at this kind of range. Nidorino confidently stepped forward and began charging the thunderbolt up, but his services were suddenly no longer required.

The boat was suddenly blasted upward by a cyclone of water erupting beneath it. It carried the boat high up before the swirling water lost its power and collapsed into the ocean, carrying the rapidly spinning boat with it. Ash could see the grunt's confused expression before the boat landed, causing a huge amount of water to spray into the air.

Ash blinked at the sudden display. He certainly hadn't been expecting that.

A small, spiky blue head made him realize just who had helped him out. His friend bobbed up and down in the waves before diving beneath. The grunt suddenly flew out of the waves gently lapping the beach, carried by a fierce blast of water.

The grunt was completely drenched and sputtered as he looked around with wild eyes. Ash nodded to Dazed. She promptly hypnotized him, causing the confused grunt to collapse onto the sand.

"Thanks, Dazed." He said to his friend. While Dazed blinked her response, Ash shouted out to the ocean. "Good job, Torrent!"

Torrent leapt into the air once before disappearing into the ocean again. Ash was happy to let his friend enjoy the time in the sea. He'd played his role and wouldn't get a chance to be in the ocean for a long time when they returned to Kanto.

Ash watched the ocean for a few more moments before heading back to the town. There were two more grunts to find before he could relax. All Ash could be thankful for was that they weren't able to escape. Plume would easily take them down if that happened.

When he walked back onto the central road, he noticed that everyone had vanished. Ash looked down at his companions as a flash of nervousness went through him. "Get ready."

Nothing happened for nearly a minute. Ash constantly glanced around the deserted street, wondering just what had convinced the villagers to retreat. He suddenly saw a small flash of blue light before he was frozen and held up in the air.

Ash's eyes widened and he tried to escape the trap he was in. He hovered nearly five feet into the air and a light film of blue energy covered his vision. Ash couldn't even move a muscle. He was completely trapped.

Nidorino roared in fury when he realized what was happening and quickly fired a thunderbolt underneath Ash. Ash didn't hear anything yelp or scream at the attack so he assumed that it missed. Actually, he couldn't hear anything very well. Everything seemed muted.

Suddenly he was blasted through the air, the telekinesis speeding the throw greatly. Ash couldn't help but shout in surprise as he rapidly approached a very hard, very solid stone wall, but he felt a powerful yank in his navel and his organs lurch as he suddenly came to a complete stop.

Ash's eyes watered in pain as everything in his body attempted to keep moving forward, but he just breathed as deeply as he could and blinked a few times until the pain was mostly gone. He suspected that he would have a few bruises tomorrow.

He noticed that he was mere inches away from the rough stone. Ash felt a burst of adrenaline infuse him as he realized that something had psychically attacked him and thanked Dazed for somehow stopping it as he was gently lowered to the ground.

When he was able to he scrambled up and looked towards the battle, ignoring the lingering pangs that shot throughout his entire body. He saw that a lone Rocket grunt was yelling at a large arbok and average looking drowzee as they battled Nidorino and Dazed.

Nidorino was protecting Dazed from the arbok, jabbing its hard scales with his sharp horn and dodging its own lightning quick strikes. Ash noticed that his friend was dominating the snake, jabbing at sensitive spots that would weaken it in the long term and easily knocking the serpent away when its powerful jaws snapped too close.

Dazed was turned towards him, trusting Nidorino to protect her. A small, glowing barrier protect her from the drowzee that was intently staring at his friend with glowing eyes. She blinked at him when he stood up and stumbled closer. When he was fine, albeit rattled and slightly out of it, she turned towards the drowzee with furious eyes.

Ash blinked away some more of the pain and watched the battle, ignoring the Rocket as he gave his pokemon commands. His friends were far too powerful for the Rocket to overcome. Arbok was almost defeated and Dazed was about to enter the fray as well.

Dazed stared at the drowzee and waved her hand as a small, focused aura of psychic energy covered her. Drowzee was quickly enveloped in the same sort of aura and froze, completely unable to move thanks to the great power of Dazed's disable.

The psychic-type suddenly exchanged the blue aura for a light grey one as she prepared a shadow ball. Ash watched in surprise as it grew larger and larger until it seemed that Dazed could put no more power into it. Her shadow ball appeared large enough to knock out several psychic-types at once.

Just as the drowzee escaped from the disable it was struck by the ruthlessly powerful shadow ball. It squealed in surprise as it was blasted backwards by the immense blast of energy, unconscious before it hit the ground.

Dazed silently stared at Nidorino for a moment. Ash narrowed his eyes at her with confusion before he noticed Nidorino suddenly freeze. Arbok managed to strike him once, but his tough, leathery hide kept the needle-sharp fangs from penetrating and the venom was a mere annoyance.

Nidorino moved. He roared and charged the surprised arbok, jabbing his horn brutally into its stomach before tossing it to the side. The arbok squirmed and struggled for a few moments before Dazed sent a thin, weak psybeam into its side.

Ash didn't say anything, although he looked at the fallen arbok with concern. It wasn't too bad of an injury for such a fierce battle, but it wouldn't be able to battle for a week. When he looked over at his friends, however, he had to intervene.

"Nidorino, stop!" He shouted desperately, surprised and slightly fearful at his friend. Nidorino was menacingly advancing on the grunt, horn lowered and a thick bead of poison balling at the tip. His intentions were clear.

Nidorino growled at Ash and continued to advance, the aggression and rage that fuelled him in battle as a Nidorino keeping him from heeding the trainer's command. Ash scowled as Nidorino took a light jab at the grunt who just barely scrambled away from the enraged pokemon.

"Stop!" He shouted, finally reaching his angry friend. "Nidorino, back off!"

His friend suddenly stopped, allowing the grunt to escape to the wall and cower. Dazed glared at the grunt and disabled him, preventing him from doing anything else. Ash frowned at Nidorino.

"I know you want to hurt him." Ash said slowly, letting Nidorino calm down a bit more. "I hate them too. But you can't kill him! I don't want you to be a killer, even if you are protecting me."

Nidorino grunted and looked away. Ash recognized it as Nidorino being slightly ashamed, although he suspected that it was more due to the fact that he had ignored Ash's commands rather than trying to attack the grunt.

"Please." Ash continued. "Don't try to kill him. Just let Dazed knock him out."

His friend grunted softly and sat down next to Ash, his face lowered. Ash sighed and gently patted his friend on the head, forgiving him. He couldn't fault Nidorino for trying to do it, not after everything Team Rocket had done.

"Dazed, hypnosis." He said, realizing the grunt was starting to move. Dazed quickly complied and sent the grunt into a deep sleep. She continued to look around the area, although her weak physical senses limited her somewhat. Aside from her hearing and smell she didn't have much to go on. Still, Ash trusted her to protect them.

"Look, buddy, no more attempted murder, alright?" Ash asked with a small smile, trying to make the situation sound less serious. Nidorino glanced away from him but nodded. He figured that he could accept that. "Anyways, there's one more Rocket to find. Be on the lookout."

With that they set off, the issue mostly behind them. As they walked down the street, Ash realized he hadn't thanked Dazed yet.

"Thanks for saving me." He told his friend as they walked down the empty street. Dazed nodded sharply, her eyes smiling a bit. Ash made small talk for a bit longer before he noticed that Nidorino was tensing up and his ears were twitching. "Do you know where the last Rocket is –"

Ash spun around with a panicked expression when he heard some sort of battle cry coming up from behind him. He flinched and raised his arms to protect himself when he realized that the last Rocket grunt had somehow snuck up behind them. The grunt was just a few feet away and was wielding some sort of small metal club.

It was also headed directly towards Ash's head. He tried to lean backward, but the man was too close and the blow was going to land. Ash thought for sure everything was going to go black, and when he just stayed like he was he opened his eyes. The trainer never even realized that he'd closed them to begin with.

The Rocket was frozen, shut down by ethereal, raging blue energy. Ash released a shuddering breath that he'd held and stepped back, his entire body shaking as he realized how close to death he'd come.

Dazed looked furious. Her normally inscrutable expression was alit with what Ash could easily recognize as pure, unadulterated rage. The stone pendulum was vibrating and shaking from invisible surges of energy tearing through the air and Dazed's eyes were bursting with energy.

Nidorino was worse. His fangs were bared and the barbs on his back stood straight up, secreting more poison than they ever had before. He lowered his horn but seemed to think better of it. Instead he roared furiously and glowed with incredible power before sending a monstrously powerful surge of electricity into the grunt.

Ash could just watch dumbly as the grunt tried to spasm and twist and turn as the thunderbolt coursed through his body. Unfortunately for the grunt the disable still worked, trapping him in the psychic stasis. Nidorino roared again and prepared to leap at the man, but Dazed made her move first.

Her pendulum swung upwards, forcing a small rush of wind to follow it as a side effect. Dazed's blazing eyes shined even brighter for a brief moment before a surge of psychic power blasted from her body, carrying the grunt with it and slamming him into the side of a house several dozen feet away.

Although the disable had dissipated in the force of the psychic attack, the grunt was too injured and stunned to try to run. He did manage to shakily pull himself up, however. At that, Nidorino roared and charged, but even as the grunt looked in fear at the raging poison-type, a huge gale of wind slammed him into the hard stone again as a terrifying shriek sounded through the air.

As Plume dived down towards the beaten grunt with her sharp beak and razor talons, Nidorino charged with murder on his mind and Dazed slowly shuffled towards the hated Rocket, Ash snapped out of it. He shakily called out to his friends once, but the adrenaline pumping through their system and the blood pounding in their ears prevented them from hearing him.

He called out again in a slightly firmer tone. When they continued to race towards the Rocket, he found the fire that every good trainer had.

"Enough!" He shouted, not letting any of the shakiness and nervous energy that ran through his body pervade his tone. His friends slowed but did not yet stop. "All of you, STOP!"

They ground to a halt. Nidorino stopped charging just a foot away from the man, his horn lowered and the aggression and desire to destroy that was normally held back by Ash's friend fully released. Plume screeched at the Rocket as she swerved away just an instant before she would have raked his torso with her huge talons and blasted back into the sky. Dazed simply stopped and turned to Ash, her eyes still glowing but with rationality returned.

Nidorino growled at the man before turning away, lowering his head as he looked at Ash. Ash had no idea where Plume was, but imagined that she had a similar reaction. Dazed simply used hypnosis on the murderous Rocket before slowly shuffling over to Ash's side.

"Please, just calm down." Ash said tiredly. Nidorino grunted in apology and sat down in front of him, keeping his head lowered and his eyes away from Ash's. Dazed stared at him with an inscrutable expression, but Ash thought he saw a little guilt in her eyes.

"No more of that." He said, almost pleading with them. "Let's just get the villagers and throw the Rockets somewhere safe. I want to go relax somewhere around the island."

His friends nodded and still looked a little ashamed. Again, Ash thought that it was for disobeying orders, not for almost killing a man.

It didn't bother him that much, though. He'd managed to stop them and hopefully they wouldn't try anything like it again, even if he was attacked. His friends needed to get in control of their emotions, no matter how protective they were of him.

Ash sighed and walked off, his friends flanking him. He set off to find the villagers. They would be able to watch the Rockets for a while.

XX

Most of the Rockets and villagers were in that large, modern building he had seen before. Although Ash didn't spend much time with them other than telling the mayor that they needed them to watch over the Rockets. He didn't really know anything about restraining people other than using hypnosis on them, so he trusted the villagers to find a way. The League scouts and Rangers that would be coming later would be able to ensure their security anyways.

He, however, was wandering around outside the town. Ash didn't really want to stay and listen to the thanks or glares of the townspeople – apparently a few hadn't minded Team Rocket all that much, despite the fact they had essentially taken over the town and threatened the villagers daily – so he left after finding Torrent and returning the water-type.

Ash just wanted somewhere that he could be alone with his friends. He still needed to call Steven and tell him that he was done, but he didn't want to do it somewhere that it could be listened to.

Although there were plenty of good spots – one of the beaches had plenty of rocks to sit on that would keep him away from most of the sand and one field he had found had a good view of the area – he eventually settled on a small meadow. There were a few butterfree flying around, but he didn't bother them and they didn't bother him.

He and his pokemon found their spots quickly. Even Infernus was released, despite the fact that he immediately incinerated the area around him with a roar. Plume quickly blew them out, however, so little harm was done.

The only one that he felt any hesitancy about releasing was Golduck. Ash hadn't let him out since the gym battle and didn't particularly want to break that streak. He just wanted to relax and not have to deal with arrogant, obstinant pokemon.

But once the rest had settled down – Nidorino by his side, Plume in the tree he was sitting against, Dazed sitting in an isolated area with blank eyes, Torrent angrily flopping around before finally carving a tiny pool to sit in with his powerful water gun and Infernus curling up on his blackened, ash-covered section of grass – Ash released Golduck.

His newest teammate looked around haughtily before quacking in annoyance. Golduck looked at him with an annoyed expression, clearly wondering who he was supposed to be fighting.

"I didn't release you to fight." Ash said tiredly from his comfortable position. Nidorino grunted and glared up at Golduck from beside him, a little spark of electricity jumping out of his horn. "We're relaxing right now. I just wanted to congratulate you on your first gym battle. You did well against that rhydon."

Golduck rolled his eyes and ignored Ash's admittedly forced praise. He sent one last glare at the trainer and his pokemon before wandering off to the opposite side of the meadow, as far as the water-type could get without Ash returning him. Ash just sighed at the display and dug around in his pack for his PokeNav.

He saw that he had a message sent to him from an unknown number. Ash figured that it was Steven, so he saved the number and called it back.

It took a few rings and beeps before Steven picked up. He was panting and there was a lot of crashing and screaming in the background.

"Ash?" Steven asked in a guarded tone. "Is that you?"

"Yeah." Ash quickly replied before worriedly asking his own question. His hand was clenching the PokeNav tightly as he heard another massive crash. "I'm just calling to tell you that I'm done. All of the Rockets are being guarded by the villagers. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." Steven said shortly. "But I have to go. I'll see you in a few hours."

Ash nodded, even if Steven couldn't see him. "Alright, but –"

He made out another explosion in the background, much closer than the one's before it, before the call was cut off. Ash frowned and stared at the PokeNav for a moment before putting it away. There was no denying that he was worried, but he trusted Steven. You didn't get to be a Champion by being weak, after all.

That still didn't calm the worried thoughts about the former Champion as he leaned back against the hard bark of the tree, doing his best to relax. He couldn't help it – Steven was, if not quite a friend, a good person and a mentor. And, unlike Lance, Ash hadn't seen Steven in action. Ash didn't know how he'd compare to the legendary Indigo Champion.

But his frenzied thoughts slowly relaxed and disappeared into nothingness. Ash fell asleep soon after his thoughts began to slow, finally drifting into unconsciousness about ten minutes after his call to Steven. The experience of his mind slowly shutting down despite his recent experiences was almost surreal.

XX

Something poked him. It was slightly silky, but at the same time firm and almost rough in places. Ash barely recognized it as being strange and grumbled at it to go away, still tired and wanting to return to sleep.

It curiously poked him again. Ash scowled and covered his face with his hands. He figured it was Dazed poking him. She had a habit of picking up odd obsessions every now and then, discovering new curiosities and then discarding them a day later. The trainer thought that she had become newly enamored with the sensation of touch. It had happened before.

"Go away, Dazed. I'm trying to sleep." He grumbled, still very weary. Ash didn't know what had happened to make him this tired, but he knew some sleep would cure it.

He was poked again. Ash finally opened his eyes, too annoyed to let Dazed keep on poking him.

Ash wasn't looking at Dazed.

Instead of the large, yellow furred form of his friend, Ash saw a short round pokemon curiously staring at him. Its true form was obscured by countless thick, blue vines. Two curious, bright eyes peeked out from beneath the shadows created by the vines and blinked at him. Red, boot-like feet shot out from the mass of tangled vines, keeping the creature raised off the ground.

He blinked at it. It blinked in return, curiously waggling its vines around and trying to poke Ash again. Ash ignored the pokes and just stared at it.

Ash had seen this pokemon far too many times in his pokedex to not recognize it. Tangela were odd, memorable pokemon, so it was somewhat difficult to forget. Aside from that there had been a small population of the curious grass-type on an island a few miles south of Kanto. Professor Oak had teleported Ash's class to the island there once to observe them.

The trainer looked around for his pokemon. All of them were snoozing aside from Dazed. She was watching him carefully but wasn't moving to stop the tangela. Ash knew that tangela were incredibly passive and friendly, so he didn't particularly care if Dazed let it nearby, although he would have liked a warning. Dazed would protect him from anything dangerous.

Tangela curiously poked his body with its vines, still curious about Ash. The trainer quietly took a pokeball from his pack. There were several in the first storage compartment at all times, which helped since he wouldn't have to worry about differentiating the captured Rocket pokemon from the empty pokeballs.

"Hey there." Ash greeted quietly, not wanting to startle the curious pokemon. Tangela jumped up a little in happiness before wrapping one of the long, prehensile vines around Ash's hand and trying to shake it.

Ash laughed as Tangela shook his hand, helping to assist with its task. Tangela cocked its head at Ash – the only reason Ash could tell was because the large, friendly eyes were skewed at an awkward angle.

He wondered where it had picked up the human gesture of shaking hands. Ash assumed that it had observed a human doing it, or might have even had a trainer before. It didn't really matter, but it made him a little curious.

Tangela made a happy noise that Ash couldn't describe very well – it was some mix between a squeal, grunt, and chirp – and shook Ash's other hand.

"What are you doing here?" Ash asked. He didn't expect much of a reply since this was a wild tangela and the breed weren't the smartest pokemon in the first place, but he had to laugh at the odd hop the grass-type did. It was a nice change from some of his new pokemon. Most of them were moody or reserved.

Tangela didn't seem to fully understand the question, but cocked its head and made the noise again, much louder this time. Ash suddenly heard a roar and saw that Nidorino had awoken to the sight of Tangela standing over Ash. His friend quickly jumped up and prepared to charge.

"Nidorino, no!" Ash cried. Nidorino started at Ash's order and looked at him quizzically, although he never let his focus on Tangela break. "It's harmless. Tangela won't hurt us."

The grass-type made the happy noise again, although it looked ready to flee in the face of the angry Nidorino. When Nidorino didn't attack, Tangela curiously ran its vines over Nidorino's body. Nidorino jerked back, causing Tangela to look downtrodden for a brief moment before looking at Ash.

Ash, however, was thinking. Tangela was comfortable around him and his team. Tangela's species were also capable of dealing a great deal of damage in a battle thanks to the versatility and protection their vines gave to them. They also evolved into an incredibly powerful grass-type – a type in which Ash was lacking.

He didn't plan on catching Tangela without its permission, however. Battling it was a perfect possibility, but fighting such a friendly pokemon felt…wrong somehow. But he figured he could at least get an understanding of its basic abilities.

Tangela cocked its head at him when he took out his pokedex and aimed it at the pokemon. Ash had to keep the searching vines away from his pokedex while it scanned Tangela.

"_Tangela, the Vine Pokemon."_ The cool, monotone voice stated. _"It is shrouded by blue vines. They are covered in a growth of fine hair and are moving at all times. If broken, they grow back within a day._

_This Tangela knows the moves: Ingrain, sleep powder, vine whip, absorb, poison powder, sludge bomb, bind, mega drain, stun spore, giga drain and leaf storm. Its ability is Chlorophyll, which allows it to move much faster in sunlight."_

To be frank, Ash was stunned at the amount of moves Tangela knew. It had some incredibly powerful grass-type moves behind it, and many of its attacks would bring down other pokemon easily through a mix of sheer power and status ailments that would befall them.

He glanced at the pokedex and saw that Tangela was a male.

But he also realized that Tangela had been trained before. He'd scrolled through the list of moves that they were able to learn enough times to know they couldn't learn sludge bomb naturally. It had to have had a trainer sometime. The only way it could've learned sludge bomb was if it was given a TM.

Still, that didn't mean he didn't want to catch it. Tangela would be an awesome addition to his team. It would certainly be a nice contrast to the surly, haughty Golduck.

"Hey, do you have a trainer?" He asked slowly, hoping it would have enough time to comprehend his question. A few seconds later Tangela shook its head, although Ash could catch a note of sorrow within its wide eyes. Tangela returned to its normal self a few seconds later, almost as if the question had never happened.

"Well, do you want to come with me and my friends? I think you'll be a good addition to the team." Ash asked, still keeping his words slow and simple. Tangela blinked and thought for only a few seconds before it cheerfully nodded, causing all of its vines to sway and bounce.

Ash grinned and stood up. He noticed that Nidorino was watching with just a little bit of interest. Dazed was still observing from afar, but she seemed to smile at him before he turned his attention to Tangela. The rest of his team was asleep.

He extended his arm out once he stretched and got some of the stiffness out of his body. Tangela was shorter than him, but quickly raised a vine and shook his hand. Ash grinned, but yelped in surprise when Tangela yanked him in for a huge with its other vines.

The trainer couldn't help but laugh once he'd gotten over his surprise and returned the hug. Tangela felt rather odd. Its vines were spongy, but possessed a hardness and firmness to them that showed the power they held. In addition it was almost slippery thanks to the fine hairs on its body.

A few seconds later Tangela released Ash, beaming up at him with bright eyes. Ash smiled and showed Tangela the primed pokeball he'd pulled out previously. "Do you know what to do?"

Tangela nodded and hopped up and down in excitement. In the middle of its leap, Tangela suddenly snapped a vine out and grabbed the pokeball, taking it from Ash's hand and tapping it against itself before being sucked in.

The ball quickly clicked, showing that it had succeeded in its capture. Ash sighed when the ball suddenly disappeared. He'd forgotten that he was past the limit.

Oh well. He needed to return to the town anyways. Lance and Steven would probably be there soon since it looked to be sunset or so. Besides, he needed to make sure that the Rangers and League officials had gotten there and secured the Rockets.

XX

It was silent when he got back to town. There were plenty of people in the streets, but most looked reserved and withdrawn. They ignored him as he passed by, causing him to be a little more cautious. He thought that most would have been excited over the Rockets being defeated.

He kept Nidorino out as he walked through the streets. Ash noticed that some of the villagers had their own pokemon out as well. Most were common – rattata, raticate, sentret and furret were the ones bounding beside most villagers – while others were somewhat rarer, such as the odd tangela or kingler.

Ash assumed that the pokemon had been confiscated by Team Rocket once they arrived. They wouldn't let anybody have a pokemon. Even if it was weak, a single pokemon could be devastating if fighting for its trainer or family.

Soon enough he arrived at the large building that dominated the entrance to the town. Small concrete steps led him up the small hill to it. It seemed to be the town's Pokemon Center as well since quite a few villagers with pokemon or pokeballs were walking in and out. Ash tried to avoid them since quite a few looked furious.

The interior was warm and homey despite the impressive size. It was jam packed though, so Ash had to work his way through the thick crowd. Everyone seemed to be clamoring for their pokemon to be checked out first. Ash couldn't blame them. If Team Rocket had gotten their hands on one of his pokemon for any amount of time, he would be furious.

All in all it seemed to be an average Pokemon Center, albeit an incredibly large one. It seemed to serve quite a few more functions than healing pokemon, however. Quite a few people standing above the rest and taking orders wore suits and seemed professional. They were also serving the rest and looked to be in charge, so Ash figured that they were the leaders of Knot Island.

He managed to slip through the throngs of people and enter a room that had a sign labeled "Trading Room". Not many people were over there, so he was able to make pretty good time. A large machine dominated the interior of the room, taking up nearly a quarter of the available area. Ash assumed that it powered the trades between the Sevii Islands and the other regions.

Nobody else was in the room and it looked particularly well-maintained. The rest of the interior looked like it hadn't been well looked after, so he was somewhat surprised. Maybe the Rockets had used this area as their base. It would make sense since they would have to stay in a fortified location with easy access to more pokemon.

The trading room was brightly lit and several monitors and trading machines lined the walls. Ash walked over to one of the monitors and sat down. Nidorino curled up beside his feet in a position where he could easily watch the door. His ears were stiff and alert as Ash punched in Professor Oak's number.

While he was waiting on the Professor to pick up, Ash released Golduck. The water-type glared around at the monitors before settling his annoyed eyes on Ash.

"We aren't battling." Ash sighed. Golduck rolled his eyes and seemed to sneer at Ash. The trainer just frowned. While it might have been bad that he didn't mind letting Golduck go for a while, he couldn't help it. He just couldn't get the water-type to work with him. Even Infernus had been manageable in the beginning.

"I'm sending you away." Ash said flatly, not bothering to sugarcoat it. It wasn't permanent anyways. He just needed to get another member of his team to grow. "You did well in your gym battle, but you won't train or work with me. I'll bring you back eventually, but for now I want to train someone else."

Golduck seemed to smirk, not displeased at all by the news. He almost seemed happy. Ash sighed and looked at the monitor as it clicked on, showing Professor Oak staring at Ash from his desk.

"Ash?" Oak asked, surprise etched onto his face. Ash smiled at the Professor and nodded.

"Hey, Professor Oak."

"What are you doing in the Sevii Islands?" Oak questioned, almost angry. Realization slowly dawned on his face. "Wait, you didn't really go along with Steven, did you?"

Ash nodded. "He wanted my help."

"Why would you go?" Oak asked, voice rising as his face grew red. "He told me what you were doing. It's dangerous! Team Rocket is dangerous! You should know that better than anyone." The Professor said, his tone growing softer when he saw Ash scowl. "Please, just come back. Those two are Champions. They don't need your help."

The trainer frowned. He could see where Oak was coming from – he knew Team Rocket was dangerous! – but he knew what he was doing. He knew that Steven didn't need his help, but at least he could do something.

"I have to stay here and help." Ash said firmly. "They might not need me, but at least I'm doing something. I can take care of myself. Did you ever hear about the Rocket base in Celadon."

"Of course." Oak replied, his frown still present. "A boy managed to sneak in and –" The Professor's face paled and his hands began to shake. "Ash, what did you do?"

Ash frowned. "I did what I had to. I found a Team Rocket base and took it down."

Oak's eye twitched. "You attacked a Team Rocket base! Alone? What possessed you to do that!"

"St. Anne."

The Professor sighed and relaxed back into the chair, looking very tired all of a sudden. "I understand what a horrible experience that was for you, but you can't keep on attacking Team Rocket. They're dangerous and won't hesitate to hurt you. You know that!"

A drowning ship, a haunter grinning widely in his face, a metal club headed straight for his skull.

"I know." He muttered, scratching the back of his neck. "But I have to fight them. I'm strong enough and I'm not going to stand by while they hurt everyone. I've already beaten a group on Knot Island. That's where I am, actually."

The older man rubbed his temples. "Does your mother know?" He asked hoarsely. Ash shook his head. "Does she know about Celadon? I know that she heard about the St. Anne – she was the one who told me."

Ash's guilty expression told Professor Oak all the man he needed to know.

"Please don't tell her." Ash pleaded. "She'll just worry over it."

"She should worry over it." Oak snapped, his friendly demeanor slipping away. "You're leaping into deadly situations without thinking of her. She has a right to know these thing!"

Ash looked down. He'd forgotten how good the Professor was at making him feel guilty. He knew that he was in the wrong in this case, but he still thought it would be better for his mother to be ignorant. There was no way he would stop fighting Team Rocket but he didn't want his mother worrying over him all the time.

Oak continued after a few tense moments. "I'll make you a deal. I understand that you are a strong trainer that can handle yourself, although I don't agree with what you're doing right now. But Cinnabar is quite close to Pallet and I assumed you will be returning there."

He nodded, figuring what Professor Oak was getting at. "I was planning on coming back to Pallet anyways."

"Good." Oak nodded. "When you're done with your business in the Sevii Islands, return here and spend time with your mother. While you're here, I expect you to tell her what you've been up to."

When Ash adopted a nervous expression, Oak dropped his angry tone and comforted him. "Delia isn't a harsh woman, Ash. She won't try to keep you from going on your journey. But don't you think she deserves to know?"

"Fine." Ash allowed. He had been planning on returning to Pallet Town anyways. It wasn't as if fulfilling Oak's request would be difficult. And his mom did have a right to know what trouble he was getting into, even if he would prefer she remain ignorant to it.

The Professor smiled softly and became casual once more. "Now that that's over with, what were you calling about?"

"I just caught a Tangela." Ash replied. "Do you mind sending it over?"

Oak nodded. "Of course. Give me a few moments."

Ash sighed and patted Nidorino when Oak left. The conversation had left him a little drained. He hadn't had a serious conversation in a long time, especially not one that hit so close to home. He'd been friends with Jonathan and Amelia, but they'd never been close enough to express their deeper thoughts around each other. His pokemon were closest to him and he was always so relaxed and things were so simple that he'd never really thought that much.

He was cut from his thoughts by Professor Oak's return. Oak was carrying the plain pokeball Ash had captured Tangela with in his hand before placing it into the transfer machine.

Ash took Golduck's pokeball off of his belt and placed it into the trading machine. It glowed for a moment before switching places with Tangela's pokeball. He took his newest friend's ball off and placed it onto Golduck's former spot.

"Could you keep Golduck away from my zubat?" Ash requested, knowing that Golduck would take great pleasure in tormenting the timid bat. "Machoke can probably handle him, but Zubat isn't tough enough. Golduck is usually aggressive and doesn't like other pokemon…or people, for that matter."

The Professor smiled as he took the ball from the machine. He inspected it carefully. "He's one of those, is he? All trainers get one pokemon that they just can't work with eventually. I must admit to being curious as to how you'll work this out. Anyways, is that all?"

Ash nodded. "Thanks, Professor. It was good seeing you again."

Oak inclined his head as he stood up from his comfortable, cushioned chair. He was barely visible in the monitor. "I'm glad to see you again as well, Ash." His face grew more serious. "Be careful and remember your promise. I'll hold you to it."

The trainer nodded in return before the monitor cut off. He stared at it for a few more moments before he got out of his chair and looked down at Nidorino. His friend was lazily lying beside the chair, although his eyes were sharp and alert.

"Let's go. We need to introduce Tangela to the team before we meet up with Steven and Lance." Ash told his first partner. Nidorino grunted in response and stiffly pulled himself up. The trainer waited until Nidorino was fully ready before leaving the building.

XX

Five minutes later they were on the shores of a beach, about a quarter-mile away from the town. Ash didn't like the villagers' stares and wanted to be somewhat isolated while introducing Tangela. Aside from his desire to escape their curious eyes, he wanted Tangela to be able to meet Torrent along with the rest of his team.

When he found a nice spot on the beach Ash released his team. Dazed was the first one out and took a slightly isolated position. Plume was next and fluttered over next to Ash, the powerful winds she produced whipping up a small sandstorm that nearly knocked Ash over. It died down after a few seconds, but it left Ash spitting sand out of his mouth.

Plume cooed an apology at him and lightly nipped the back of his hat. Ash smiled and lightly stroked her crest before releasing Infernus. The powerful fire-type roared when he was released and looked around for his opponent, much like Golduck had done. But when he realized there was no foe, Infernus snorted and curled up.

Ash sighed at Infernus when the fire-type caused the sand near his tail to transform into raw, molten glass. Infernus barely noticed and curled up even tighter.

Torrent was last. He snorted a greeting at Ash when he appeared in the water and puffed out his armored chest and spines. When Ash smiled and greeted him, the water-type began swimming in backwards circles, bored.

"We have a new teammate." Ash explained to his waiting friends. "It's a Tangela. Be nice."

His friends had mixed reactions to that. Dazed seemed perfectly content with the new addition. Nidorino didn't seem to mind either, as did Plume. They were both apparently content that their positions weren't threatened thanks to their type advantage.

Infernus didn't seem particularly impressed. He stood up and roared, blasting a huge stream of flame into the sky as though to prove how much better he was than the grass-type. Ash just shook his head at the display and glanced over at Torrent. While he didn't get to spend as much time with the water-type as he'd like and couldn't read his expressions and mannerisms as well as the others, Ash could tell that Torrent didn't like the sound of the Tangela.

It wasn't too surprising. Torrent was proud of being one of the three most powerful members on the team and the only one without a weakness to another member. Nidorino had Dazed and Infernus had Torrent. A grass-type of unknown strength probably made the seadra feel defensive.

"It'll be fine." Ash said soothingly. Torrent looked at him with trusting eyes and grudgingly nodded. "Anyways, here he is."

Tangela hopped up and down when he was released, excitedly glancing between each member of the team. He ran up to Ash first, though, quickly shaking his hand before running over to Plume.

The great bird gazed down at him interestedly but squawked and tried to fly away when Tangela unexpectedly tried to hug her with his vines. Tangela quickly withdrew them when she struggled and instead tapped her on the head with one of the extended vines. Plume didn't seem too offended by the display, but turned her head away from Tangela and proceeded to push her ruffled feathers back down.

Nidorino warned Tangela off from hugging him with a low growl, but accepted one of the grass-type's probing vines that curiously ran over his head. After a few moments Tangela made his odd, happy noise and moved onto Infernus.

Ash knew Infernus was planning something the moment the devious fire-type's eyes seemed to glint happily. Infernus was a good member of the team, but he was still a magmar. They had a mischievous streak that could never be completely defused, although, as shown in Infernus' case, it could be minimized.

He called out a warning to his newest friend, but Tangela didn't hear it before curiously touching Infernus with several of his vines. Tangela made a distressed gurgling noise when Infernus suddenly increased his body temperature by a huge degree and quickly withdrew his scorched vines before running over to Dazed.

"Infernus, no more of that." Ash said sternly. Infernus rumbled in agreement but didn't seem to upset. He figured that the fire-type had known this would be a one-time trick. He looked over at Tangela, who was hiding behind the impassive hypno. "Tangela, it's all right. He won't do it again."

Tangela shot Infernus an uncharacteristically dark glare – Ash could see the wide, friendly eyes narrow and darken in the midst of the wriggling vines – before poking Dazed. He didn't do much more before running over to the water's edge where Torrent waited.

Torrent didn't seem very happy about the grass-type prodding him, but didn't do anything to dissuade Tangela either. That gave Ash some hope for an eventual friendship between the two. He shot Torrent a grateful smile in response, causing Torrent to swell up in pride as he soaked in the attention.

"There are a few others, but they aren't here right now." Ash told Tangela. The grass-type had waddled over to Ash after meeting Torrent and looked up at him with attentive eyes. "So, are you good at battling?"

Tangela bobbed his head up and down. Ash grinned. While he would have to test his newest friend out before using him, at least Tangela had a battling background. His wide move pool hinted at such.

"Well then, let's get started." The trainer said with a grin. Tangela bobbed up and down, clearly excited at getting a chance to show off his skills. Ash was glad – he'd be testing all of Tangela's limits.

XX

An hour later Ash was both pleased and worried.

He was pleased because Tangela was better than he could have hoped. Tangela had proved to be a wily opponent, a far cry from his normal dullness. The grass-type was quite skilled at using his vines to wrap an opponent into submission and poison, paralyze or drain his opponent. Ash hadn't let his newest friend show off the fullest extent of his power, but he knew enough to realize that Tangela was powerful.

Nidorino had sparred with Tangela, although he didn't use his poison. Tangela was able to effectively immobilize him thanks to the dexterous vines and the writhing shell of vines provided a strong barrier against Nidorino's horn. It wouldn't be as effective in a real fight thanks to Nidorino's poison and added strength, but Ash knew that Tangela could handle himself in a fight.

But, despite his happiness over Tangela's abilities, Ash was worried that Steven or Lance hadn't called him yet. He had expected to be called a while ago. It was beginning to get late and –

His PokeNav rang. Ash quickly took it off of his belt and flipped it open. Steven was the one calling.

"Hey, Steven." Ash said into the device. Steven's image came up. He looked tired and dirty, although the odd suit he always wore looked almost pristine. Ash assumed that it was made out of a very durable material.

"Hey." Steven replied tiredly. "Where are you? I just got back to Knot Island. I'm waiting in the Center. Lance should be getting back soon."

Ash held back a sigh of relief. "I'm training with my pokemon. I'll be right there. Where are you in the Center?"

"A Ranger will show you to my room." Steven told him. Ash saw the former Champion's screen shake a bit before Steven reappeared, now sitting in a large, cushioned chair. "Ah, Lance just arrived. We'll see you soon. Goodbye."

Ash gave his own farewell before the screen blackened. He folded up the PokeNav and placed it on his belt. After that he looked out at his friends. Most were either wandering around the beach or standing near each other. Dazed was huddled together with Nidorino and Tangela while Plume casually circled above them. Infernus and Torrent were in their own little areas, happy in their solitude.

He called out a warning before returning all of them except for Nidorino. All of his friends aside from the poison-type and Infernus were quite tired from the day's excitement and their mock battle against Tangela. Infernus wasn't the best choice to walk through a forest, so Nidorino was his best choice.

Nidorino grunted as he plodded over to Ash. Ash made sure he was ready before heading towards the town. He was incredibly excited – he wanted to hear just what the Champions had gotten up to during the day.

XX

"And the hero returns!" Lance said with a grin. The Indigo Champion was carelessly sprawled across a sofa, clearly exhausted but in high spirits. Ash grinned and nodded his thanks towards the Ranger that had brought him here. His guide gave a nod in return before returning to the base level.

"The Head Ranger here gave me the report." Lance continued, still speaking quite loudly. On anyone else it would have been a shout. On Lance it just sounded right, befitting his position. "The villagers said you did quite well against Team Rocket. No fainted or injured pokemon. I have to admit, you did much better than I'd expected."

Ash looked down at the praise. "They weren't very good."

Steven finally spoke up. He looked much worse than he had over the video phone. His silvery hair was matted with sweat and grime and he bored several scrapes and cuts on his arms. The only untouched part of him was his suit, and even that looked like slightly crumpled.

"How are you? I heard some…disturbing accounts about the grunts." The former Champion said, sounding genuinely worried.

The trainer froze, a large metal club flashing through his memory as well as the retribution his pokemon had given.

"I'm fine." He said stonily, not wanting to talk about it. "My pokemon handled it."

"They did a good job too!" Lance said, lazily raising his head so he could look at Ash. "The one that got thrown into the house won't be doing much for a while. He'll be fine, though." He said hastily when he saw the glare Steven sent him. "Just a little banged up, is all."

Ash relaxed a bit, letting some of the tension fall from his body. He was fine. He just needed to calm down and forget the worst parts of the battle.

"What did you do while I was here?" He questioned as he slid into a small chair.

Lance smiled widely, turning his mouth upwards. It possessed more wildness and ferocity than happiness. "I destroyed three Rocket camps at the base of Mt. Ember. They haven't told us what they were doing there yet, but one of the Rangers has an alakazam that's working on them. All we know right now is that they were trying to dig something up. All of their operations on Knot Island have been shut down."

Ash grinned back. It was just what the Rockets deserved, although he was admittedly curious over what they could have been doing. Were they trying to make the volcano erupt somehow?

But he was pulled from his thoughts by Steven. The Master was far less exultant than Lance was. His demeanor was grim and tired, showing that he'd been through a lot that day.

"I went to Chronos Island." He revealed. His voice was completely smooth. No traces of emotion flickered through it. "I met up with Lorelei and a few League forces and searched the forest for Team Rocket."

Ash waited patiently as the man paused. Steven would tell him when he was ready.

"We found at least thirty wandering through the woods, patrolling and searching for League forces." He said, eyes distant. "When we found them, they regretted it. Metagross took down most of their pokemon, but a few of us were hit by some of their attacks."

Steven motioned at his bruised, beat-up appearance. "I got off easy. A weezing exploded near me, but I was only caught by the edge of the explosion. Metagross protected me from the worst of it, but a few of the League forces weren't so lucky. We have about eight of them in the hospital right now. They were teleported back to Kanto for medical care."

He had a lump in his throat as Steven recounted his experiences, wondering why the friendly man was telling him this. Was he just trying to ensure that Ash knew how dangerous Team Rocket were? Because Ash knew. Pierce had ordered his muk to kill him, after all.

"But we found their base." Steven smiled, a bit of the grimness fading. "They didn't know we did, but I have the location. Tomorrow we'll be storming it. Pierce is trapped."

Ash grinned widely. He couldn't wait to go into it. "What will we be doing?"

Steven gave him a thoughtful frown. "The League will be spread throughout the forest in order to keep any of the Rockets from escaping. Lance and I will be storming the warehouse. You will be watching over the warehouse in order to make sure no Rockets have the chance to be caught by the League."

He nodded. While it wasn't the most action-packed role, Ash figured that he'd had enough excitement for a while. Helping would be enough and he'd be doing an important job. "Do you know how many there are?"

"No." Lance replied, finally sitting up. He had a frown on his face. "We have estimates that place more than eighty of them inside their warehouse, but nothing concrete. All that we really know is that there a lot of them and that Pierce is inside."

Ash leaned back in his chair with a grin. Pierce was going to pay. But he pushed the satisfaction away. He wanted to know everything about what they would be doing. "So, how are we getting there."

"It's a choice between teleportation or flying on my dragonite." Lance said with a smirk towards Steven. The former Hoenn Champion was clamping down on the arms of his chair at the mention of flying. "The Ranger with the alakazam has an abra we can use. It's probably the better choice anyways. We'll be in before they know it and Steven won't be sick for the first half-hour of the battle."

Steven scowled but didn't react in any other way than standing. "I need to get cleaned up." He announced. The former Champion glanced at Ash. "You should get to bed – you have the room to the right of this one. I'm sure you're exhausted from the battle today. You'll need your energy tomorrow."

Ash nodded his understanding and left the Champions. Steven was certainly right about him being tired and he definitely needed to get a shower. He was dirty and smelled like dried sweat. Definitely not a good combination.

He found the room Steven had told him about quickly. It was unlocked, but a card key sat on the small wooden table by the door. Ash took it and locked the room before continuing into the room.

It was small but comfortable. Aside from a few tropical decorations, it was an ordinary Pokemon Center room. Before he went into the bathroom to get cleaned up, Ash released Dazed and Nidorino. Tangela probably wouldn't like the artificial surroundings very much.

After both of his friends found themselves a comfortable area, Ash went to the bathroom to get cleaned up. It was going to be a long day tomorrow.

XX

About three o'clock the next day, the group had assembled in a small field outside the city. It looked to have been burned by some sort of fire attack, so Ash figured one of the fire-types that lived around Mt. Ember might have come to the area.

He had woken up extremely late this morning, but greatly enjoyed it. Ash normally woke up early on his journey, so the luxury was appreciated. After that he got ready and made all of his preparations for the battle. All of his pokemon were made aware of what they were going into. Most of them seemed anxious to take the fight to the Rockets, although Tangela surprised him with his vehemence.

All in all, Ash was ready for this. He was glad to have a part in preventing the spread of Team Rocket, no matter how minor that part might have been. It was enough for him.

"Abra wants to know if she can look in your mind to get the location." The Ranger told Steven. "We can get to it if you show us a map or a picture, but this is much faster and more precise."

"Of course." Steven said with a nod. He didn't seem bothered by a psychic intrusion.

Abra yawned and looked into Steven's eyes for a moment. The man went slack but remained standing. He stayed like that for a while, long enough for Ash to glance at him in concern.

"He's fine." The Ranger assured Ash. "Abra's just young, is all. She's not used to getting information from peoples' minds yet. My Alakazam is experienced enough to have gotten it and teleported you to it by now."

"Can she talk to you?" Ash asked curiously. He'd heard of psychic-types that could use telepathy, but he was never sure if they were just myths. If not he couldn't understand why Dazed wouldn't speak to him.

The Ranger looked surprised. "Of course. It takes a fair bit of specialized training, but psychic-types like the abra family or the ralts family are capable of using it. Most psychic-types that hang around humans long enough can as well, although it's an off and on kind of thing. Some just aren't capable of it."

"I don't think your hypno can speak, Ash." Lance interjected. He was leaning against a tree and patiently waiting for Steven to be revived. "Not yet, anyways. From what Sabrina's told me they have difficult communing with non-psychics. They're more focused on physical manifestations anyways. Hypnosis and telekinesis and whatnot."

"Oh." Ash said with a frown. He'd never come across an entry in the pokedex that had claimed hypno could speak, but he had hoped after hearing about the abra.

Abra suddenly tore her eyes away from Steven, allowing the former Champion to slump to the ground. He waved away any attempts to help and clambered back up to his feet. Steven blinked a few times and brushed his silvery hair out of his eyes before looking at Lance and Ash.

"I'm ready if you two are."

The Ranger grinned. "Alright, Abra. You know what to do."

Ash suddenly saw a flash of light before suddenly appearing in a completely different area. He blinked in surprise before looking around. Steven and Lance were right next to him and Abra was behind them. She vanished in a small flash of light an instant later.

So that was teleportation. Ash had expected it to be unpleasant, but in reality it didn't even feel like he'd moved. It was just that he'd been warped through space, not that he'd been thrown hurtling through some alternate dimension that made him spin and feel sick.

"Surprised, huh?" Lance grinned, swinging his arms around to warm them up. "Teleportation's a pretty easy way to travel. You blink and you're somewhere a hundred miles away."

Ash smiled and nodded but looked at Steven. The slight man had a frown on his face as he looked past the forest's edge.

He followed Steven's gaze and blinked in surprise. Once the forest diminished and died, a small meadow began. In the center of the meadow was a huge building, easily a hundred feet tall. It was obviously the Rocket base, although it wouldn't be so obvious to an unknowing observer. There was no logo emblazoned upon the side or any other indicator other than the fact that Ash knew where they were going.

Roughly twenty people working in pairs patrolled the perimeter. They had arbok and weezing out, polluting the air with their noxious fumes. One had a massive, savage Houndoom beside him. It snarled and breathed small blasts of flame towards any of the Rockets that drew near.

"Steven, call Lorelei." Lance ordered, eyes focused on the Rockets. "Tell her to be on standby. I'll take these Rockets out, but if any try to run away I want her to be ready."

Steven took out a small black device and began typing in something. Ash watched curiously, but Steven glanced over at him. "Ash, wait by the door when the Rockets are defeated. Lance and I will enter the building. You just wait for any stragglers fleeing the scene."

Ash nodded in understanding and looked at Lance. The Champion had a removed a pokeball from his belt and tapped the button, releasing a long, serpentine pokemon that was around fifteen feet long. It had dark, glossy eyes and a small horn on its forehead. Small feathery wings adorned the sides of its head and it was covered in sapphire scales everywhere but its belly, which was a bright blue. Small blue orbs hung under its neck and on its tail.

He immediately felt a calming aura engulf him, although the slight anxiety he was feeling nullified most of its effect. Ash stared in awe at the massive Dragonair.

"Hey, Saph." Lance said softly to his pokemon, gently tickling its chin as it lunged at him and licked the side of his face. "Use thunder wave on the Rockets and their pokemon."

Saph gave a low, happy call in reply and turned towards the patrolling Rockets. Thanks to their dense coverage, none of the criminals had seen the group.

It stared at the Rockets before releasing a blue stream of electricity from its horn. The stream arced towards the Rocket with the Houndoom before splitting off and slamming into all of the visible Rockets and their pokemon, overloading their nervous systems and paralyzing them. A second thunder wave knocked all of them out.

Ash started when they were unconscious, but a restraining hand from Steven kept him from leaving the cover. Steven shook his head at Ash and nodded to the Rockets.

He moved back and watched carefully as another three pairs of Rockets ran out from the other side of the warehouse, apparently alerted to the fall of their comrades somehow. One of them pulled out a small handheld device to presumably call for help, but Saph fired off another thunder wave that knocked them out.

Lance pointed to two small cameras by the large, heavy doors blocking the entrance. An instant later Saph fired a thunder wave at the cameras, overloading them and frying their circuits.

With that the Champions ran out from their cover towards the large, steel doors that blocked the entrance. Saph picked Ash up and quickly darted after them, easily catching up with the Champion's head start and dropped Ash next to them before she was returned by Lance.

Steven tried to open the doors with the button, but a small keypad above it suddenly beeped and gave them a message. "Only authorized personnel are allowed within this building. Please enter the two passwords given to you by your superiors."

Lance scowled. "Passwords? Really? Well, that doesn't matter. I have my own."

The Champion quickly released his hulking Dragonite. It was quiet and had determined eyes as it waited for Lance's instructions.

Steven released the familiar form of Metagross as well. Both moved back about ten feet and were quickly followed by Ash.

"Stay behind us while we do this." Steven said calmly. "Metal Claw!"

Metagross gave a cold, mechanical roar that sent chills down Ash's spine. It sounded like grinding metal. The huge steel-type then raised an "arm" that glowed a bright, metallic silver before slamming it down on the thick steel doors. They crumpled like paper, torn down with barely any effort.

Ash heard shouts and screams coming from inside the warehouse as Metagross tore the doors down and telekinetically picked them up before hurling them into the warehouse. Dragonite gave a roar of its own before bursting into the warehouse after Metagross, a hyper beam already charging in its mouth.

"Get back to the forest line!" Steven shouted as he ran towards the building. He turned his head to look at Ash before vanishing into the ravaged entrance. "Stay safe!"

He quickly followed the command, releasing his pokemon except for Torrent and Infernus when he got to the safe zone. Infernus would just attract too much attention. Ash would release him in a battle, but until then he was relying on stealth.

From the gaping hole torn into the side of the building, he could see bright flashes of light and small explosions. Shouts and screams continued to echo out, but he never heard anything that might be from the Champions or their extraordinarily powerful pokemon.

Plume was circling in the sky, high up enough so that she wouldn't be easily seen but low enough to where she could interfere and attack if needed. Nidorino was crouched next to his side, horn lowered and ready to charge or launch a thunderbolt.

Tangela had an interesting strategy: he crouched in front of Ash, serving as camouflage in front of the shrubs and bushes. It wouldn't stand up to a critical glance, but in the heat of battle it would work well enough.

Dazed was hidden at an angle. Despite her skin color she seemed to disappear in the forest, probably manipulating the air or the surroundings minds with her abilities. He could only see her because he knew her so well. Her eyes were focused on the gash in the steel and her pendulum was up and waiting, already trembling with energy.

He waited for several minutes. The blasts that raged throughout the warehouse and caused the massive steel building to shudder and quake gradually slowed before almost disappearing. Ash figured that Steven and Lance had taken down most of the opposition.

While he would have doubted the viability of the assault had it been any other two trainers, Ash had complete confidence in the Champions. He'd seen both of them battle on television before and it was simply awe-inspiring. Even when they hadn't been using their full strength against challengers they had proven to be on an entirely different level than the Elite Four. They were worth a hundred trainers each.

But one last explosion tore through the building, blasting an even larger hole in the wall on a different side of the warehouse. Ash managed to spy several shapes sprinting out of the improvised exit before he whistled to Plume. When he gave her the signal she dived towards the Rockets with a fierce shriek.

They didn't have any pokemon, so the criminals were helpless to resist Plume as she flapped her powerful wings and sent a huge gale of wind into the Rockets. The three uniformed men shouted in surprise as they were sent to the ground with crushing force. Plume sent another gust into their collapsed forms for good measure before tearing back up into the air with a single flap of her wings.

Ash grinned at his friend before snapping his head back to the original entrance. He saw a slight, hazy form slipping out of it from the corner of his eye.

He squinted and prepared to give Nidorino an order. But then he looked at the haughty, aristocratic face of the fleeing man and froze.

Pierce was running away from the warehouse and hadn't even noticed him.

For a moment Ash couldn't think. He could just feel the icy waters of the roaring ocean pulling him deeper, the putrid stench of the muk enveloping him and burning him with its toxic, acidic body. He shuddered before snapping his eyes open and scowling. It was time for Pierce to be the weak one.

"Disable! Thunderbolt!" He roared, anger taking over. Pierce was alerted to him now and released three pokemon before any of Ash's friends could do anything.

A monstrous, feral-looking umbreon leapt in front of Dazed's vision, its dark-typing allowing it to absorb the disable with no ill effect. It snarled and bared long, needle-like fangs. The yellow rings that adorned its body glowed brightly and its red eyes gleamed with savagery and maliciousness.

The next pokemon was a dark purple, round, bipedal shadow. It hovered just a bit above the ground with its legs pointed downward. Its bloody, scarlet eyes seemed to grow darker when it spied Ash and the other pokemon and shadows coalesced around its floating form. The gengar grinned broadly, a wide row of razor-sharp fangs suddenly appearing in its face.

The last was one that Ash had intimate experience with. His face paled and he stumbled backwards as the gigantic muk appeared. It poisoned the ground around it, not exercising the least bit of control to prevent such horrific damage to the earth. Its blank eyes looked off into space, not caring about its surroundings in the least.

Muk easily absorbed the thunderbolt, the electricity doing little to its thick, oozing form.

"I don't care who this is – kill them." Pierce said calmly, no fear or anxiety about the destruction of his warehouse showing. "Golbat, get me out of here."

A golbat suddenly swooped down and landed near his feet in a slavish manner. Pierce didn't even spare Ash a glance before climbing on. Golbat quickly took off, dodging Nidorino's automatic thunderbolt.

Ash grit his teeth in frustration when Pierce began to lift off, but he grinned in satisfaction when Plume suddenly swooped into the flying bat, raking its sides with her large, sharp talons and slamming it to the ground with a blast of air.

Pierce kicked his golbat in disgust when he got up and eyed Plume in annoyance. "I don't know who you are, but I suggest that you leave. I will not hesitate to kill you and your pokemon."

The trainer stepped out of the trees and shadows, looking the man he feared the most straight in the eye. "I'm not going to let you go. Not after what you've done."

Ash scowled at the Executive and twisted his hat around. He would need the additional visibility.

Pierce stared at him oddly for a moment as he strode over to a safe area behind his pokemon, apparently fine from his crash other than a bit of dirt and dust on his clothing.

A slight glimpse of recognition worked its way into the man's cold, dispassionate eyes. They glinted in an amused sort of interest. "Ah, yes. The boy. Where are your friends? I was hoping to wring the other boy's neck personally." He sighed in faux sympathy. "It would have been a much kinder fate than allowing muk to eat you."

Ash clenched his fists, not willing to let Pierce goad him anymore. "Psychic!"

Dazed reacted quickly to the order, suddenly appearing in the tree line and blasting a huge wave of telekinetic force at the opposing pokemon. Umbreon snarled and jumped in the way of the blast that would have hit Pierce. The psychic energy was easily absorbed by the ferocious dark-type and what remained only clipped Pierce and sent him stumbling. Muk was caught by a great deal of the blast, however, and groaned in pain as it was sent flying into the side of the warehouse. Gengar grinned before disappearing, suddenly popping out in Pierce's shadow.

Pierce snarled at him, the icy composure that Ash had come to associate with the man breaking. He was acting like he had back when Jonathan had insulted him in the heart of Mt. Moon.

"Kill them!" He roared, cold eyes growing hot and hateful. "Umbreon, tear out that runt's throat!"

Umbreon's rings glowed a bright, sickly yellow as it bared its long fangs at Ash. He glared back and met its hateful scarlet eyes with his own brown. The canine snapped its jaws once before charging towards Ash, small shadows collecting around it.

It gave a furious snarl as it neared Ash, poisonous sweat leaking out of its body. Umbreon opened its jaws and suddenly leapt at Ash with deadly grace, only to be met with an angry Nidorino's ice beam mid leap. The feral dark-type yelped as it was slammed into the side of a tree by the ice beam before snarling and getting back up.

Ash's mind kicked into overdrive as he formulated strategies. He wasn't about to let Pierce or his deadly pokemon escape.

The first thing he did was to back away from the fight. He didn't want to be caught by any attacks. Pierce's pokemon would be aiming to kill, and his own would be fighting seriously. An accidental hit could seriously injure him.

The second was to match his pokemon to their best opponent. Nidorino was already entangled in a fierce battle with the Umbreon, jabbing his horn in an attempt to hold the dark-type away from Ash and Dazed. Ash didn't want to interfere in that battle. It was much too fierce and even a moment's distraction for Nidorino could give the quick, ruthless Umbreon an opening to go for the kill.

Dazed was still focusing on Muk, firing her psybeam at it with pinpoint accuracy. Ash was content to let her continue taking potshots at Muk, but he cried out for her to watch out when he saw a large, purplish shadow stalk towards her from the woods.

The psychic snapped around and raised a barrier just a moment before Gengar would have struck with its large, razor claws. Dazed's eyes glowed a bright blue as she engaged Gengar, keeping the shifting, agile ghost away from her.

"Tangela, sludge bomb on Umbreon." Ash ordered, speaking clearly so that the slower-witted Tangela would understand him. Tangela gave him an odd sort of chirp in response and turned towards Umbreon. His newest friend's vines suddenly withdrew a bit from around his hidden face as a glob of brown, noxious sludge was shot from inside the vines.

Ash grinned as the reeking, poisonous sludge slammed into Umbreon, giving it a dangerous dose of poison and sending it crashing to the ground. Nidorino didn't waste any time in taking the advantage, firing an ice beam into the fallen dark-type before charging towards it with his horn lowered.

He looked away as Nidorino slammed into Umbreon with incredible force. Ash tried to ignore the pitiful yelp that emerged from the snarling muzzle of the dark-type and focused on the rest of the battle.

Dazed and Gengar were still sparring with one another, each firing fast, precise attacks at the other in order to test their defenses. Gengar was on the run, but seemed to be effortlessly dodging her psybeams by phasing through trees and melting down into shadows in order to disappear. But he wasn't able to make a move in return, so Ash felt comfortable leaving her alone for now.

Muk, on the other hand, was a real problem. It was slowly making his way over to them with a wide, melting mouth open. A trail of highly toxic sludge was left in its wake, bubbling and releasing the smell of trash into the air.

Ash couldn't help but gag as the scent finally reached him. He'd thought the stench was bad in Mt. Moon. In the warm, tropical environment of the Sevii Islands the rotting smell of trash and decomposition was horribly amplified.

He made sure to breathe in through his mouth after that, although the sensation of actually _tasting_ the Muk's scent was quite possibly even more disgusting. It at least let him focus on the battle, even though his eyes watered slightly from the putrid odor.

Muk slowly grew nearer, forcing Ash to make a move. Tangela was hardly the best choice Ash had to battle the large, powerful poison-type, but he just didn't have time to release Infernus.

"Stun spore, then use sleep powder." Ash ordered as he backpedalled from the approaching behemoth. Tangela kept by him at a safe distance, shaking his body and releasing a cloud of gold-orange powder from beneath his vines at Muk. Muk slowed down as the spores touched its large, toxic body, but the orange spores were melted by the sheer acidity of its body. The sleep powder met a similar fate.

Ash grimaced as he ran out of options. Dazed would be the ideal choice to help him, but a cursory glance towards her revealed that she was still locked in a fierce battle with Gengar, although she seemed to have the edge now. A psybeam appeared to have hit Gengar, disrupting its abilities and hurting it badly. It was moving slower now, although it seemed much more aggressive.

Plume couldn't do anything against the amorphous blob of toxins. She just didn't have the power to knock it back or do anything to it. Even touching it would cause her to be severely poisoned, so a distraction attempt was out.

"Stun spore." He ordered again. Tangela loyally followed his order and shook his body, releasing more of the orange spores. They settled on Muk, slowing the monster and giving Ash enough time to release his saving grace.

Infernus roared in fury when he was released, realizing the danger that they were in. He didn't bother wasting the flames that erupted with his roar into the sky, instead directing the stream into Muk. The noxious poison-type bubbled and gurgled in pain under the intense heat, but continued advancing even as its toxic body slowly evaporated into the atmosphere.

"Flamethrower!" Ash ordered calmly, not letting the panic go to his head. "Follow with fire punch."

That was all he could get out before Tangela suddenly grabbed him with two long, blue vines. Ash squirmed in surprise as his newest friend placed a vine in front of his mouth and nostrils as the poisonous gas released from Muk's body slowly advanced towards Ash.

It drew near and Ash stopped struggling, realizing what Tangela was trying to do. Infernus blasted Muk with a flamethrower, his robust constitution allowing him to ignore the worst effects of the poison. Temporarily, anyways.

As the toxic fumes grew closer, Plume dived down from high in the sky and flapped her wings. She shrieked her success when the majority of the gas was blown into the forest, far from the fierce battle raging in the corner of the meadow.

Infernus continued his long blast of flame on Muk as he advanced, holding none of his power back and preparing to end the fight. Ash realized that Infernus had the situation handled and glanced over to Dazed.

Dazed was on the defensive now. Gengar was flitting from shadow to shadow, visible only thanks to its distinctive coloration, scarlet eyes and wide, bloodthirsty grin. It hurled shadow balls at Dazed at an awe-inspiring rate, the dark, ghostly orbs of energy quickly shattering whatever psychic shields she set up in order to avoid the blasts.

"Do you know if you can hold onto Gengar with your vines?" Ash asked Tangela. The grass-type looked confused by the question for a few moments before happily nodding. "Could you catch it from here? Dazed just needs a few moments to take it down. Try to take some of its energy with absorb."

Tangela happily bounced up and down before releasing two of its vines. They grew to an incredible length before snapping towards Gengar with unnatural speed. Ash couldn't even see them blur as they caught the bloodthirsty ghost and restrained it, wrapping around its small limbs and binding them together.

Gengar released a hiss that was audible from where Ash was standing before beginning his struggle. It tried to melt into an incorporeal shadow, but Tangela's long vines suddenly tightened and began to glow a bright green. Ash recognized it as the absorb he'd ordered.

The ghost briefly fell limp as a massive surge of energy was sucked away by Tangela's probing vines, but when Dazed's eyes flashed a bright blue and a high-powered psychic blasted into it, Gengar frantically tried to tear away from the trap it found itself in, but it could do nothing before the psychic tore through its shadowy body and knocked it unconscious.

Ash gently patted Tangela on the head for his work and thanked him before he turned to Dazed. "Make sure Pierce doesn't get away!"

Dazed nodded and shuffled towards Pierce with her pendulum gently swaying, seductively attracting attention to itself and the calming psychic energy it released. The Executive seemed nervous for the first time since he'd met the criminal and had a hand tapping at one last pokeball around his waist. Ash was satisfied that Pierce wouldn't escape in the confusion and looked towards Infernus and Muk.

Infernus still hadn't let up on the flamethrower. Muk seemed to have lost half of his mass in the form of toxic gas, but Plume dove down from the clouds every now and then to blow it away before it could hurt any of them.

Finally, the fire-type let go of the flamethrower and rushed towards Muk with a burning fist. Muk squelched as the fist impacted it and reared up. Ash frowned in concern when he realized that Infernus' fire punch had gotten stuck in Muk's thick, gelatinous body, leaving Infernus completely helpless to any other attacks.

Muk reared up as high as it could despite its reduced size and mass and surged towards Infernus. Infernus was nearly covered by the large body of Muk before punching it again and forcing it off. Unfortunately that left his other hand stuck in Muk's body.

Ash prepared to order Dazed to finish the fight and let Infernus go free, but Infernus had other ideas. He roared and spat a huge blast of flame in Muk's face, forcing the poison-type to shrink back. It still kept Infernus' hands securely imprisoned in its sludgy body and pulled the fire-type down with it.

Muk oozed onto Infernus when the fire-type fell, enveloping and smothering Ash's friend.

"Infernus!" Ash cried as he saw his friend disappear under the still-huge body of Muk. He started forward, but a restraining vine from Tangela kept him from running over to his friend. The trainer snarled in anger and looked towards Dazed. "Psy—"

Muk began to bubble. It opened its mouth in pain and concern before looking down with its beady black eyes, the only things on its body that weren't toxic or sludge. A familiar, burning hand suddenly plunged up through its back, tearing a hole in its thick body.

A second one followed. Both slowly burned brighter and more intense until Ash could feel their incredible heat. He had to turn his head after just a few moments. It felt as though he were sitting right next to a bonfire.

Muk's body bubbled more and more, but it wasn't until both arms shot up through its body, ablaze with bright white and orange flame, that Muk exploded. What mass hadn't been lost in the form of gas was shot throughout the entire meadow in small chunks of moving, wriggling sludge.

Ash looked in both awe and horror as Infernus pulled himself up from the remnants of Muk, still covered in the toxic sludge and looking tired for the first time that Ash could remember. He stamped his foot and caused lava to burst up around him before he let loose a proud, victorious roar. A huge stream of flame crackled into the sky, burning some of the sludge on Infernus' head.

Infernus suddenly flared up, melting off the rest of Muk before proudly accepting Ash's congratulations. Ash grinned at his friend and praised him for the battle.

If Infernus had caused any pokemon other than that Muk to explode, Ash would have been horrified. It was a cruel, horrible death for even the worst of creatures. But in a muk's case, such an attack wasn't lethal. The explosion was painful, true, and greatly weakened the muk for a long time to come, but muk were interesting creatures. They were alive in an odd way alien to most living organisms. By being destroyed, they separated into many grimer.

Most of the grimer were small and practically defenseless, but it was more than possible for them to come together and form into a new, larger grimer or even a full muk. But it would be a completely different organism than the one that had been destroyed. Fission like that destroyed the original's identity, giving birth to many new organisms.

So, while Infernus had killed the Muk that haunted Ash's dreams, he had just given birth to many new organisms. They would have to be captured soon to prevent any ecological damage from occurring thanks to the inexperienced grimer, but Ash thought it was the best fate that could have happened. Whatever damage and torments Team Rocket had wrought upon Muk for it to become so aggressive and hateful would be gone forever, left in the past for the new population of grimer.

Ash focused his attention on Pierce. The man was blank-eyed and calm, but it didn't seem like he was really hypnotized. He had seen people hypnotized by a hypno before in Mt. Moon and in the form of the Rockets that had taken over Knot Island, but Pierce wasn't perfectly calm. The Executive had too much nervous energy about him.

He narrowed his eyes and glanced at Dazed. She looked perfectly fine, so what could –

A vine suddenly pushed him to the ground. Ash yelped in surprise and looked over up at Tangela from his fallen position. The grass-type stood in front of him bravely, a bloody, furious Umbreon captured in his vines. Umbreon snapped his jaws on one of the vines holding him, cutting the vine off, but Tangela barely seemed to notice.

The dark-type tried to lunge at Ash from inside the web of vines Tangela had bound it in, but the wriggling vines simply grew tighter and immobilized it. Umbreon continued to glow brightly and snarl and spit poisonous saliva and sweat at Ash, but the trainer was completely safe.

Ash quickly pulled himself back and stumbled away from the twisting and snarling Umbreon, staring at the bloody creature in horror. Umbreon was clearly injured – Ash could see that its side was stained a dark red and one of its long, narrow ears looked torn – but it didn't seem injured enough for that much blood.

His mind was instantly alit with fears of what the feral monster might have done to Nidorino. Ash felt immeasurable guilt swell up in him when he realized that he hadn't checked on his first friend after the first phase of fight, knowing that he might have consigned his friend to a horrible fate.

He clenched his fists and glanced at Umbreon with hateful eyes before glancing at Pierce. The Executive was no longer feigning hypnosis. Pierce had a small smirk on his face, matching the cold persona that Ash had grown familiar with far better than the psychotic, murderous look he'd worn during the beginning of the fight.

"Knock it out." He said tightly, not letting any of his fear or horror into his voice. Ash couldn't let Pierce know that he'd gotten to him. Tangela gurgled in reply and quickly sucked out all of Umbreon's energy, leaving the feral canine limp in his vines. The grass-type casually tossed the unconscious Umbreon aside, letting the dark-type fall to the ground heavily.

Ash gritted his teeth as he looked around for Nidorino. He couldn't see him in the immediate area, so he whistled for Plume. His friend swooped down from her lofty position and circled around the air about twenty feet above him.

"Find Nidorino and make sure he's safe." Ash called up to her, making his voice just quiet enough so that Pierce wouldn't be able to hear very well. Plume shrieked her understanding before taking off in search of their endangered comrade.

He glanced over at Tangela again. The grass-type was attentively watching him with a cocked head. "Use stun spore on Umbreon and come with me." Ash looked over at Infernus. "Come with me. We need to make sure Pierce doesn't get away."

Infernus tensed up at the name and something, fear, perhaps, no matter how alien the emotion was on Infernus, shot through his eyes. Ash frowned at that, but Infernus loyally walked ahead of him as he neared the frozen Executive.

"Don't try anything." Ash warned. Pierce just stared directly ahead, feigning hypnosis again. "Or I'll have Da—"

Pierce moved fast, so fast that Ash had no time to react. He plucked his last pokeball off of his belt and released whatever tormented monster slumbered within. Dazed tried to move, but whatever was in that pokeball was powerful enough to break her psybeam before she even used it.

Ash yelped in surprise when a metagross burst into the meadow, taking a good portion of the available space up with its incredible bulk. It gave the same cold, mechanical roar that Steven's Metagross had released before rearing up and slamming its front two legs onto the ground.

A massive earthquake ripped through the ground, leaving deep gouges and fissures in the earth. Ash was pulled away by Tangela just a moment before the deadly attack would have hit him. He nodded his thanks at the grass-type before focusing on the powerful pokemon that had taken over the field.

He didn't know much about metagross aside from the fact that they were amongst the most powerful pokemon in the world, native to Hoenn, around the same level of intelligence as an alakazam, and nigh invulnerable to physical attacks. Ash wasn't sure if he could take this monster of a pokemon down by himself. The Champions would be his saving grace if he wasn't strong enough.

But he wouldn't let Pierce walk over him. He would put up a fight, even if Metagross was probably strong enough to take on his entire team.

"Infernus, flamethrower!" Ash cried. Infernus pulled himself up from where he'd been knocked over and roared before following the command. A huge blast of flame burst from his mouth, streaming onto Metagross.

"Light screen." Pierce sneered. He looked over at Ash with a smirk. "You should run while you can! My dear cousin is still occupied in the warehouse and won't be able to save you this time."

Ash frowned in confusion. Cousin?

But he didn't have time to ponder it. The flamethrower had been nullified by Metagross' light screen, which appeared in the form of a bright, golden cube that simply absorbed the flames. Infernus was already rearing his head back to try again, but Ash stopped him with a shout.

"Fire spin. Blind Metagross." He commanded, stepping back from the battle. If Ash's next strategy worked right then it wouldn't be a good idea to stay around the battlers.

Infernus released a twister of orange flame at Metagross, heating the air up by an incredible degree. It didn't break upon the light screen as flamethrower had. Instead it encircled Metagross and swirled around it, completely blinding the steel-type and weakening it thanks to the intensity of the flames.

"Fire punch!" Ash ordered. He turned towards Tangela as Infernus' camouflage took effect, allowing the powerful fire-type to disappear into the roaring inferno and strike from anywhere. "Metagross is going to snuff out the fire spin. Can you hold it down when that happens?"

Tangela bounced up and down as he nodded. Ash grinned and patted him on the head. "Thanks."

Ash couldn't see anything beyond the swirling column of fire that engulfed Metagross other than a few glimpses of blue-gray steel, but a metallic roar showed him that Metagross must have been hit by the fire punch.

An instant later the light screen exploded outwards, carrying the flames with it. Most of the flames died before they could reach Ash, but a few white-hot cinders managed to survive. One hit Ash on the arm, causing the boy to hiss in pain and clutch at the small burn. He did his best to ignore the pain and focused on the fight.

Metagross was hurt by the fire spin and fire punch. It looked a bit less confident than it did before the battle began, but it still looked as though it could easily take on Ash's team.

"Beam spread." Pierce commanded in a casual manner before Ash's pokemon could counterattack. He was standing straight and tall, apparently uncaring of how the battle went. Ash wondered why he hadn't run yet, but figured that the Executive fully understood that there was no way he could escape without something that could teleport or fly. The Executive was probably just trying to take Ash down with him.

Ash didn't have to tell his pokemon to dodge whatever Metagross was about to do. He and his pokemon all leapt behind some sort of cover, mostly large, thick trees. He spotted Tangela using its vines to pull him up into the branches of a tree. A moment later, just as a huge sphere of pulsating white and gold energy formed in front of Metagross, Tangela yanked him up as well.

He recognized it as the beginning of a hyper beam, although Metagross seemed to be using its psychic abilities to hold the ball of hot energy in place as it grew and grew until it was much more powerful than it would be normally.

Metagross didn't seem to care that its targets had hidden. The hyper beam was suddenly released at full strength, but not in the way Ash had expected. Instead of a single large, powerful beam, the hyper beam was released as a hundred smaller ones. Each carried incredible power behind it, the focused energy capable of cutting through trees and stones as though they were paper.

The forest was left in ruins. A single one of the tiny hyper beams cut cleanly through an entire trunk and possessed enough power to carve through several trees before fizzling out. Everywhere around them the trees were collapsing and smoking from the immense heat and energy of the hyper beam. Ash's own tree wasn't fortunate enough to escape, but Tangela pulled him down as the grass-type left the tree. He managed to spy Infernus nursing a wound to the shoulder in the midst of the chaos, but he thought that Infernus would be fine. His friend had taken worse than a hyper beam.

While it had done some damage – the modified hyper beam had reduced the forest to fallen timber and had caused several dozen neat, molten holes in the side of the steel warehouse as well as the damage to Infernus – the hyper beam left Metagross completely exhausted. Pierce seemed to be fruitlessly searching for their bodies amongst the fallen trees and smoke, but he wouldn't be finding anything.

The deadly attack had made Ash's next strategy much easier. Metagross would be helpless as it recovered from the incredible strain the hyper beam placed upon its body, so Ash was going to take full advantage of it.

"Shadow ball, flamethrower, smokescreen, leaf storm!" Ash cried out breathlessly, speaking as fast as he could. His friends needed as much time as they could get.

A forgotten player in the battle suddenly made her presence known. Dazed blasted her powerful shadow ball into Metagross' side from her hidden position in the forest. Its energies disoriented the psychic-type and caused immense pain for Metagross, adding an additional effect upon the exhaustion the hyper beam brought upon it.

Infernus refused to let his injured shoulder hold him back and released the most powerful flamethrower Ash had ever seen from him, pouring all of his remaining power and fury into it. The massive cone of white flame washed over Metagross, the sheer power of the blast not inhibited in any form.

Before the flamethrower had even finished, Tangela shook his body and released dozens of green, glowing leaves surround him, carried by a cyclone. They shuddered for a moment before the cyclone carried the razor-sharp leaves towards Metagross at an incredible speed.

While such an attack wouldn't ordinarily do much damage to Metagross, the flamethrower had served to soften and melt some of Metagross' nigh invulnerable body. It would quickly harden again, but the leaf storm had been fired soon enough so that it did some real damage.

Infernus staggered towards Metagross with a feeble roar before he spewed out a huge cloud of black, oily smoke. Ash was at enough of an angle to where he could still see Metagross, although the right half of its huge body was still obscured from his vision.

From what he could see, the barrage of attacks had done quite a bit to the titan. Metagross looked to be in terrible pain from the shadow ball and flamethrower and slowly staggered upwards, having finally recovered from the hyper beam.

There was no worry in Pierce's voice as he gave a string of commands to Metagross. He seemed almost bored. "Evasive Attack Combination."

Metagross screeched in return, the high-pitched sound grating on Ash's ears. Ash blinked as he suddenly realized that there were four Metagross staring his friends down, each blurry and indistinct. A light blue aura of psychic energy covered each of them and they rushed towards the exhausted magmar at a terrifying speed that a gigantic steel monster should never reach.

None of them had time to react before the four Metagross rushed in on Infernus. Ash didn't even have time to blink before Metagross reached his friend. All he could make out was a raised arm that shined a brilliant white before coming down on Infernus' body, golden star-shaped particles blasting into the air as the huge metal claw crushed Infernus, sending the fire-type slamming into the ground with horrible force..

Ash blinked before a horrible rage overcame him. Infernus was crumpled on the ground, hot blood steaming and pooling from the large wound the attack had given him onto the ground. From what he could see the attack hadn't done any serious damage, but it had knocked Infernus unconscious and had _hurt his friend_. The severity of the wound mattered little to Ash when rage pounded through his head and his vision pulsed red.

"Shadow ball!" He roared to Dazed. "Tangela, hold it down!"

"Hyper beam." Pierce said lazily. He was haughtily standing up with a smirk on his face, amused at Ash's anger. "Full power. Kill the runt. You can take the shadow ball." The Executive seemed annoyed at some unspoken signal, however. "Yes, I'm sure! Just kill him!"

Metagross roared in reply and stared directly at Ash with its cold red eyes. He thought he could see a hint of remorse in its eyes before it prepared the attack. Ash blinked in fear as a sphere of churning red and gold energy formed in front of its face, the steel-type too fast for him to react in the least. Even Tangela was unable to pull him out of the way before the lethal hyper beam flashed towards him.

But a perfectly aimed ball of shadowy energy collided with the hyper beam midway through its journey, stopping the attack in its tracks. As the attacks met, a huge explosion occurred, hurling Ash and Tangela several feet back from the sheer force behind the blast.

Ash groaned and sat up, his ears ringing. He blinked sluggishly and looked at the exhausted Metagross. The strain of firing so many hyper beams in such a short amount of time weighed heavily upon the steel-type and it was helpless to resist as another shadow ball hurled by Dazed slammed into it, knocking the immense beast to the ground.

His perception was skewed, but he thought he saw relief in Metagross' eyes before it was thrown back by another shadow ball. It tried to pull itself back up, but it was a half-hearted effort. Dazed ruthlessly hurled more and more shadow balls at the incredibly powerful and resilient pokemon, preventing it from carrying out any of the commands Pierce was calmly giving it.

Ash began to pull himself up as Metagross was hit by one last shadow ball, this one finishing the immensely powerful steel-type off. It crashed to the ground unconscious, causing the ground to tremble.

He was assisted by two helpful vines that supported him as he stumbled towards Infernus. Ash was barely aware of his own injuries, although he still knew of them.

From what he could feel he would be badly bruised the next day. His mouth tasted like dirt and grime and his face felt like it had a heavy covering of ash on it. Ash didn't care, though. He just collapsed next to Infernus, examining his friend's wound with furious eyes.

"Dazed, use psybeam on Pierce!" He shouted. It wouldn't kill the Executive that had done this and so many other horrible things, but it would make him feel just a fraction of the pain his victims did.

Ash saw Pierce cry out in pain, real emotion and hurt on his face for the first time Ash had ever seen. Pierce slumped to the ground as Dazed sent another, weaker psybeam at him for good measure, the weak psychic attack blasting him onto his back.

He barely cared anymore. Ash just lightly touched Infernus for the first time, ignoring the hot pain coursing through his hands from Infernus' uncontrolled body heat. The trainer took most of his hand off when it grew too intense even for him but kept on staring at his friend's injury.

Infernus was hurt. He had a large gash on the center of his chest where the powerful attack Metagross had used impacted and blood was dribbling from the wound. A neat hole was burned into his shoulder, not going all the way through but coming close. Ash blinked and stared at both wounds in horror for a few moments before his sense returned to him.

Ash fumbled for Infernus' pokeball to return the injured pokemon. But even as he set his finger on the button that would return his friend to stasis, Infernus awoke slightly and blinked at Ash, reaching up for the trainer before collapsing again. He was returned a second later, out of his pain for a while.

He warily stood up, sending a glare at Pierce – who Dazed had disabled while Ash examined Infernus – before leaning on one of the few trees still standing after Metagross' devastating attack. The trainer gratefully accepted Tangela's support and let the grass-type prop him up.

He knew just how much this battle had cost him. Infernus was badly hurt, Dazed had come close to being eviscerated by Gengar, and Nidorino was still somewhere, probably hurt and possibly…no. That couldn't have happened. Nidorino was more than strong enough to take on that Umbreon. His friend was too tough to be…_that_.

Ash was suddenly aware of a gentle presence that prodded at his mind. He opened the eyes that he had unconsciously closed and stared at the bright blue form of Saph. The dragonair gently cooed at him and floated towards him before wrapping him up in its comforting coils.

Tangela hopped up and down and tried to hug Ash through the dragon's coils. Ash smiled at both of them but it slipped away when he looked at the familiar, limping form of Lance.

The Champion had a frown on his face as he surveyed the devastation, but his entire body tightened with anger when he saw Pierce. "Dragonite, get Steven. We found him."

Lance didn't waste time on the Executive once Dragonite had taken off. He walked over to Ash with a remorseful expression on his face.

"Are you okay?" The Champion asked worriedly. He put a hand on Ash's shoulder and kneeled in front of him. "What did Pierce do to you?"

"I'm fine." Ash replied stonily, still a little dazed from the explosion. "My pokemon, though…"

The Champion frowned and stood up. He released an immense pokemon, although it was smaller than dragonite. Ash looked at it through hazy eyes, noting that its stone was grey and rocky, but it had wings and looked like some sort of small dragon.

"Ash, what pokemon are you missing?"

Ash blinked before responding. "Nidorino got separated from me during the fight." Ash said guiltily. "My pidgeot is looking for him right now."

Lance nodded and glanced at the large stone beast. "Aerodactyl, go look for his Nidorino. Help his pidgeot bring it back safely."

Aerodactyl gave a low, rumbling growl before taking off, his large wings somehow supporting its massive weight. Ash watched it fly off, realizing that he'd seen that kind of pokemon before in a news article. It was one of the ancient, extinct pokemon that had been successfully cloned.

Those ancient pokemon were still incredibly rare, but they had been given immune systems that allowed them to survive in this new world. He never thought he'd see one in person, although he supposed it would make sense for the Champion to have access to such a rare pokemon.

"Listen, everything's going to be fine." Lance said soothingly. "Nidorino are tough. Yours is particularly powerful from what I've seen."

Ash nodded, still numb. His ears were ringing and everything Lance said seemed just a bit fuzzy and indistinct. But he could understand it well enough, even if it was hard to concentrate on what the Champion was saying.

Lance suddenly turned his head and called out to a newcomer. Ash followed his gaze and made out the furious form of Steven, his gigantic Metagross that positively dwarfed Pierce's floating behind him with a matching expression.

Steven stormed over to Ash, the angry expression fading into that of a worried one. "What happened?"

"Pierce's Metagross fired a hyper beam. Dazed intercepted it with a shadow ball. I got his by the explosion." Ash said, stumbling over his words a bit. Steven's face darkened at the mention of Pierce's Metagross but he was too concerned about Ash to do anything other than nod at the fallen man. Metagross quickly floated over to the Executive and stood on top of him.

"Lance, he needs to get to a Pokemon Center. Can Saph take him?"

The Indigo Champion nodded and looked at Saph. "You heard Steven. The Pokemon Center on this island can take care of him and his pokemon.

Saph crooned at Lance in understanding and uncoiled from around Ash, although it made sure that Tangela could keep him standing before doing so. Ash pulled himself up tiredly before looking at Lance with a curious expression.

"What about Nidorino?" Ash asked worriedly. "I need to get him and Plume."

"I'll take care of them." Steven said. "Just give me their pokeballs and I'll make sure they're safe."

Lance decided to interject. "I have several full restores on me at the moment." He explained. "Nidorino will be fine, I promise."

Ash wasn't happy about it, but he trusted the Champions. He took Plume and Nidorino's pokeballs off of his belt and handed them to Steven. The Master carefully took them and placed them on several additional slots on his belt.

"They're in good hands." Lance assured him as Ash returned Tangela and Dazed and climbed onto the waiting dragonair's back. Saph's small wings suddenly grew several sizes and the dragon-type began levitating in preparation to fly. Her scales were smooth but it was easy to securely hang onto her.

Lance walked over and spoke one last time to Ash before the young trainer was taken away. "You did great." He said approvingly. "Not many people could have taken down Pierce. I'm glad we brought you along."

Ash grinned at the praise before Saph took off, levitating just a bit higher before beginning to fly in earnest. She was careful and did nothing that might knock Ash off or even make him uncomfortable.

They quickly gained altitude. Ash's stomach lurched when he looked down, but after a few movements he calmed down. Saph's soothing aura helped him to lose some of the fear he felt at being up so high, enabling him to look down at the vast forest of Chronos Island without feeling any fainter than he already was.

He spotted several groups of people dressed in League uniforms rushing towards the Rocket warehouse as they passed over the forest. They were only flitting glances and he was too high up to make out any details, but he was just glad that they were there. At least there were enough of them to make sure none of the Rockets escaped.

Ash wasn't sure how long they spent flying, but after a while they began their descent. Saph was travelling at an incredible speed if the massive expanse of forest behind them was anything to go by, but she somehow kept the air from buffeting Ash. In fact, the winds seemed almost nonexistent. Perhaps she was manipulating the weather.

Saph carefully and quickly guided them down into the small town on Chronos Island. It was much larger than the one on Knot Island, but was still positively tiny compared to any of the great cities or towns of Kanto. Ash thought it was possibly the size of Viridian City, probably quite a bit smaller.

But that didn't matter. Saph knew exactly where to go. She gently landed right in front of a Pokemon Center. A Nurse Joy and several other workers were waiting in front of it. Nurse Joy quickly helpled him off of Saph, keeping him steady.

"Thanks." He directed towards Nurse Joy and Saph. The large dragon-type crooned her response at him before taking off again, probably heading back to the warehouse. She vanished in just a few seconds, no longer restricted by Ash's safety.

"Sam, take his pokemon." Nurse Joy ordered in a no-nonsense tone. A boy a few years older than Ash quickly removed the pokeballs from his waist. "You, what pokemon of yours are injured? The Champion was rather urgent."

Ash answered quickly, a sudden bout of clarity striking him in order to help his friends. "My magmar has a hole in his shoulder and got his by a meteor mash from a metagross. I don't think any of my other pokemon are hurt too badly."

Nurse Joy gave a sigh of relief and gently pulled him into the Pokemon Center. She guided the injured trainer through several hallways before reaching a room. He was put into a small bed before Nurse Joy began to rapidly do a bunch of things that Ash couldn't follow.

"This might hurt a bit." She warned. Ash didn't have a chance to see what she was doing before a sharp pain spiked in his hand. He winced but didn't try to get away from the needle she'd stabbed him with. A few moments later his vision faded and dimmed before cutting to black.

XX

Ash awoke an indeterminate amount of time later. He was sore all over, but his ears were completely fine. They weren't pounding with pain or ringing anymore, which was a great step up from the last time he'd been conscious.

He looked around curiously. Ash remembered being pulled into a Pokemon Center before being given the anesthetic, and this room definitely gave credence to that memory. It was just an average Pokemon Center room, albeit one with emergency medical equipment thrown up.

When he tried to move his hand, he felt a sharp pain. Ash hissed and immediately let himself fall back down. He looked at his left hand and saw that it had a needle stuck into it, feeding some sort of liquid into his body.

Ash frowned, but didn't try to get back up. Whatever was getting pumped into him was there for a reason. Besides, he was sore all over. Even the slightest motion sent pangs of pain throughout his body.

So he waited, worried about the fate of his friends. Infernus would probably be fine, but there were all kinds of things that could go wrong when an attack that powerful hit. He just couldn't get that niggling worry out of his head.

It was Nidorino that he was really worried about. He at least knew what happened to Infernus. Nidorino had been pulled away before he got into the real fight with the savage Umbreon. Ash had no idea how bad his injuries were, but they had to have been bad enough to leave some of the blood that matted Umbreon's fur. What really struck Ash about the danger Nidorino was in was that Umbreon had gotten away from him. Nidorino was far too stubborn and protective to let the dangerous dark-type anywhere near Ash.

But Ash still held onto his hope. Like Lance had said, Nidorino was tough. He would pull through.

He was suddenly pulled from his thoughts as the light wooden door was carefully opened. Two figures that he instantly recognized as the Champions stepped through. Their expressions were both hard, but they lightened up when they saw that Ash was awake.

"And the hero's awake!" Lance said loudly. He was grinning maniacally. "Damn good job, Ash! Like I said before, I'm glad we brought you. Pierce is now secured behind bars. He won't be getting broken out anytime soon!"

Ash gave the boisterous Champion a small grin. It made his face feel sore, but it was worth it. He was glad to have earned his hero's approval. But Steven was different. The former Champion obviously thought that Lance's praise was more than enough and looked at Ash with a critical expression, obviously worried.

"How are you feeling?" Steven asked. He looked completely fine, untouched from the storming of the warehouse. The former Champion walked over to Ash and handed him a water bottle. "You've been kept hydrated for the last three hours." He explained. "But I know from experience that it doesn't help with your throat."

Ash nodded his thanks towards him before taking small sips of water. He knew that if he tried to take huge gulps that he would end up regretting it later. When he finally had enough to sooth the slight burn in his throat Ash replied to the patiently waiting Steven.

"I'm fine." Ash said. It wasn't a complete lie. He was sore and bruised, but that was to be expected. He could easily get over that. What mattered right now was his pokemon. "Did you find Nidorino? How's my magmar?"

Lance took over. "Calm down there, Ash. We found Nidorino. He was hurt, but he'll be fine. Your magmar is already healed. It took four doses of full restores, but all the damage was healed."

Ash sighed in relief. "How badly was Nidorino hurt?" He asked worriedly. Even if his friend would be fine, he wanted to know what Nidorino had been put through.

Steven frowned, a shadow flashing over his face. "He was savaged by Pierce's Umbreon. It looked like he dealt just as much back, but Nidorino was knocked out. He had a few broken bones and some bad bites. They're working on him now."

The trainer crashed back down to the bed. He suspected that Steven wasn't going into the worst details in order to avoid upsetting him, but what he'd been given was enough. Ash scowled and looked at the ceiling before asking some more questions.

"What injuries do I have?"

"Nothing major." Steven said calmly, but a flash of restrained anger burned through his face as he described the injuries. "A few lacerations and gashes on your arms and chest. You had a few minor burns and severe bruising on the front of your body. Everything but the bruising has been fixed. You're going to be sensitive and a bit weak for the next few days, but aside from that you'll be fine."

Ash sighed in relief, but froze after that. He'd had a lot of work done. Just how long had he been unconscious. When he voiced those thoughts, Steven smiled.

"Just five hours."

The trainer looked at the former Champion quizzically, unable to believe that. He didn't even feel any cuts or stitches, let alone gauze or anything else for the burns.

Steven seemed to understand his confused expression. "You only had minor injuries. Nurse Joy just had to stitch you up and put some modified potion on your cuts. About an hour later it had healed enough for the stitches to dissolve. She just used a modified burn heal for everything else. Unorthodox, but it works. Your bruising was the only thing she couldn't fix."

Ash nodded. He didn't have any more questions relating to his pokemon's injuries or his own. But he still had a few things to ask about the battle itself. "How did your battle go?"

Lance suddenly made his presence known again, dominating the room with his loud, powerful voice. "It was child's play!" He boomed, no longer serious as he had been during the operation. "A few more Rockets than we'd expected, but it was child's play for Dragonite and Metagross!"

The bedridden trainer cocked his head. "But you were expecting about eighty grunts."

"Exactly!" Lance laughed, the same maniacal grin on his face. His cape lightly flapped from the small breeze coming through an open window as he continued grinning. It seemed that their victory had made him quite excited. "They were almost boring to fight. Most of them just tried to run after we defeated their pokemon. Those grunts weren't even good distractions for Pierce."

Ash scowled at the mention of Pierce. The Executive might be behind bars now, but Ash would hate him with a burning passion for the rest of his life. Pierce had ended and ruined too many lives for him to just vanish out of Ash's memory.

"The Rockets have been sent back to Indigo Plateau." Steven said calmly. "They are awaiting trials at the moment. Their pokemon are being rehabilitated."

"What's happening with Pierce?" Ash asked. The grunts were just a minor problem in comparison to the man that had destroyed the St. Anne and left thousands to die. "And his pokemon, for that matter."

Steven frowned thoughtfully and leaned back in the chair he had taken. His hands were clasped together as he spoke. "Pierce is actually being sent back to Hoenn. He's too valuable for the Rockets to not attempt a rescue attempt and they don't have enough of a presence in Hoenn to try one."

"Back?" Ash questioned.

"He came from Hoenn." Steven admitted, his eyes glinting with anger at the thought of Pierce. "That's why we have first dibs on him. He's one of ours, and we're taking him back."

Ash frowned. He could understand their reasons for taking him back to Hoenn, but he wanted Pierce to pay for his atrocities in Kanto. The people of Kanto were the ones he had terrorized. Still, justice was justice. They were all united against Team Rocket, after all.

They were silent for a while until Lance spoke up. He had a slight smile on his face. "By the way, don't think you aren't getting rewarded for your work. You kept one of the worst criminals in Kanto from escaping and played a vital role in battling Team Rocket."

He leaned forward curiously. Ash was never averse to an award.

"I just added forty thousand dollars to your trainer card." Lance said, grinning wider at Ash's stunned expression. That was twice as much money as he'd made in his entire career so far, and he'd battled more trainers in a few months than most did in a year. "That about a tenth of the money we've recovered so far at the warehouse, so I thought it would only be fair to give you it."

"Thanks!" Ash said in a daze, stunned at the reward. Lance just smirked.

"Did you think that's all? Steven and I both have something for you as well."

Ash managed to pull himself up, curious as to what the Champions might have gotten him. Lance suddenly snickered. "We aren't giving it to you yet. You'll get it when we arrive at Cinnabar Island."

"When are we leaving?" He asked in a disappointed tone, annoyed at Lance for stringing him along.

"Tomorrow." Steven replied as he suddenly stood up. "You'll be ready to travel by noon and Nidorino will be stable enough to put into a pokeball."

While he was annoyed that he wouldn't be getting whatever it was the Champions were giving him right now, Ash was more focused on the fact that Nidorino would be healed by tomorrow. From the injuries Steven had described he'd expected Nidorino to stay in the Pokemon Center for at least two days.

Ash suddenly felt tired. It had been lingering with him the entire time he'd been talking, but the excitement had made it come to the forefront of his mind. He collapsed back onto the bed.

"It looks like your painkillers are taking effect again." Steven said quietly. "We'll leave you to your rest now."

Lance gave him a grin and another bout of praise before leaving, cape trailing in his wake. Steven followed him moments later.

Before the former Hoenn Champion left, however, he glanced back at Ash. "You did better than I could have imagined. As Lance said, not many trainers could have taken down Pierce with only their pokemon. Keep on going, Ash. You're going somewhere."

With that Steven left Ash. Ash struggled to keep awake, but he couldn't fight the exhaustion for very long. Soon he fell into unconsciousness, getting some well-deserved rest.

XX

**Well, there's chapter nine. Thanks for reading, everybody, and make sure to review! **

**But before I end this, I have one last thing to say. I'm going to be having a tournament in the story sometime soon, and I need some trainers for it. If you want to, send me a PM with your trainer and their pokemon or leave it in a review if you're leaving one. **

**Here are the rules: No legendaries. Any legendaries are going to be instantly disqualified. I'd hope that all of you can come up with something more creative than a pseudo-legendary or shinies, but those aren't instantly disqualified. I need a list of all of the pokemon's moves, a basic personality and appearance for the trainer. **

**Anyways, thanks for reading!**


	10. Chapter 10: Back to Pallet

"So, how many pokemon did the League recover?" Ash asked from his chair. They were currently on the boat that was taking them back to Cinnabar Island. He was still sore all over, but most of his injuries were healed or healing. Nurse Joy had said he'd be fine to travel in about a week or so.

Infernus was back to normal. He was furious when Ash had released him earlier that morning. The fire-type hadn't seemed to realize how badly he'd been injured and thought he was still in the fight. Ash had calmed him down before he burned down the gigantic forest that encompassed Chronos Island, but it had been a close call. Right now he was in his pokeball, resting so that he could fight soon.

Despite having several full restores used on him, Nidorino wouldn't be battling for at least another week. Medicine was able to perform near-miracles in this day and age, but there were limits to what it could do. Being mauled by a rather powerful, cruel Umbreon was one of them.

Nidorino wouldn't have any lasting problems, but he wouldn't be back at his prime for about three weeks. He'd be able to battle soon enough, and Nurse Joy had assured Ash that Nidorino would heal faster if Ash used him in battles more. The poison-type's real problem would be getting all of his muscle back and working out some of the injuries.

All of his other friends were fine. Dazed had been slightly injured by Gengar's claws, but she had managed to escape before the ghost could do any real damage. Tangela hadn't taken any damage at all aside from a few broken vines. They had already grown back. Plume hadn't participated in the fight aside from taking out golbat, so she was more than ready to take up the slack Nidorino would be leaving.

Lance answered him from his own chair. They were sitting around the ship's shaded table, glad to relax after the hard day yesterday. Steven had been in a bad mood all morning for some reason, although he hadn't taken it out on Ash or Lance. He expressed it by constantly frowning and being quieter than usual.

"Three hundred and forty two." Lance recited from memory. "One hundred and five of the ekans line, one hundred and forty-six of the koffing line, four of the houndour line, fifty of the zubat line, twenty-three of the grimer line and fourteen of the murkrow line. Pierce's pokemon aren't being counted." He added. "Aside from those grimer, anyway."

"What's happening to them?" Ash questioned, leaning forward in interest despite the dull throbbing that erupted in his muscles.

Lance frowned, looking a bit remorseful. "No Team Rocket pokemon is normal. They are either broken until they work and will happily attack other humans and pokemon without provocation or are simply disturbed ones, much like the humans that make up Team Rocket. But Pierce's…Pierce's are something else."

Ash looked at Lance curiously. The red-haired Champion had an uncharacteristically dark look on his face. He seemed to be brooding as much as Steven was at the moment.

"Pierce's are in the second category." Lance explained. "Mostly, anyways. That Umbreon is vicious. We tracked its record through a DNA sample. Even before it somehow managed to find its way to Team Rocket it had a long list of assaults on trainers and pokemon. We'll probably have to put it down. It's not like we can use a psychic to help it."

He grimaced along with Lance. Ash could truly say that the Umbreon was the only pokemon he'd ever really hated. It had nearly killed his first and best friend and had tried to do the same to him. But he didn't want it to die, even if it was as deadly as Pierce. But sometimes he supposed there was no other way.

"What about the Gengar?" Ash questioned again. He didn't have to worry about Muk. That nightmare had been broken up into about twenty-six grimer, each of which were completely innocent of the crimes their progenitor had committed.

"We're still examining it with psychics." Lance replied. He took a long swig from a bottle whose contents Ash wasn't quite certain of before elaborating. "Remember the Ranger that teleported us?"

Ash nodded.

"Well, they've got that thing disabled for an indeterminate amount of time. It's quite vulnerable to the skill, so we're just making sure it doesn't get away. It's been cooperating with us thus far, but the Alakazam working on it isn't able to verify anything."

Lance's face suddenly twisted in annoyance. "As for that Metagross of his, Steven's taking it back to Hoenn with him."

Steven scowled. "Lance!" He snapped. His face was dark and stony. "That's enough."

The Indigo Champion glared at Steven, the first sign of discord Ash had seen between the two. He curiously watched the interaction, although he couldn't say that he liked it.

"He stopped Pierce. I think that you should let him know why you were so invested in taking him down." Lance growled, standing up from his chair. Steven did the same, meeting Lance's glare with his own flinty stare. Ash noticed that Lance positively dwarfed the slight build of Steven. "It's not that bad."

Ash just continued watching, doing his best to stay out of it. He had to admit that he was curious over what was going on. The Champions seemed to be very good friends. It was odd for them to be even the least bit hostile to each other.

The two Masters stared each other down for several more seconds before Steven relented. He sighed and sat back down. "Fine."

Lance didn't smile, but he relaxed a bit and followed suit. He kept a watchful eye on Steven.

"What's going on?" Ash asked confusedly, figuring that now was the best time to ask. Steven just frowned and glanced away.

"Well, Lance thinks that I should give you a bit of background on Pierce." Steven said calmly, face losing some of its tenseness. He still frowned, but he seemed less bitter. "Do you remember why I came to Kanto?"

Ash's mind flashed back to their first meeting. "Something about looking for rare stones, right? You mentioned the Moon Stone."

"That's right." Steven said with a smile before frowning again. "I told you the truth, just not all of it. You remember how I told you that Pierce was from Hoenn?"

The younger trainer nodded slowly, not seeing where this was going until a remark from Pierce came to the forefront of his mind.

"_You should run while you can! My dear cousin is still occupied in the warehouse and won't be able to save you this time."_

Pierce's haughty, aristocratic tones echoed in his mind, causing Ash to shudder as a wave of hatred rolled through him. He hadn't understood the remark at the time considering that he had adrenaline pumping through his veins and much more important issues to deal with – a powerful, murderous Metagross, for instance. But now he put it all together. The context made sense now that he had time to think about it.

"He said something about his cousin." Ash frowned, eyes narrowed. "He said that his cousin wouldn't be able to save me that time." He paused for a moment. "You're Pierce's cousin." Ash said flatly.

Steven's glance away from Ash was all he needed to know. Ash's frown grew. He wasn't really sure what to feel. Steven didn't mean any harm by it, and it wasn't like he was obligated to tell Ash that he was related to the man that tried to kill him after they first met, but the former Champion should have told Ash after they actually took the fight to Pierce.

"It's not something I'm especially proud of." Steven replied quietly, pulling his head up but still looking past Ash. "He's done terrible things, more than you could ever know. He's my blood," the Master spat, suddenly bitter ", but he's no family of mine."

Ash cocked his head and just silently watched Steven, waiting for the man to continue. Steven had a faraway look in his eyes, far from his usual determined expression.

He took the time to examine Steven. Now that Ash knew what he was looking for, it was easy to find. The former Champion had several similarities to Pierce, although nothing that would really draw attention. Both of them had silver hair, although Pierce had more of a blue tinge to it. Their faces had a similar bone structure, although where the aristocratic features made Pierce seem cruel and arrogant they made Steven look commanding, a Champion.

Lance leaned back in his chair, eyes watchful with an ambiguous emotion behind them.

"Let me tell you about him. It's about time it came out. I won't go into a lot of detail." Steven told Ash, frowning as he began. "I'll tell you the basics. He was never nice, even as a child, but he was polite and charming enough. Took to my family's status quite well. Better than I did, at any rate. Still, if I was ever around him long enough I was disturbed. There was just something not quite right about him. He lied just a bit too much; everything he did just seemed too well rehearsed. So I stayed away from him. We were never particularly close."

Steven's face darkened. "But he never did anything really bad as far as I know. Just took his jokes and pettiness just a little bit too far. It wasn't until we were both about twenty-three that he showed his true colors. That was just after I'd become Champion. About six months after winning the title from Drake, I got news. My family protects a beldum colony." He explained. "Every member of my family gets one as a starter, whether they're going on a journey or not. It's where I got Metagross and Pierce got his."

Ash noticed Steven's fingers unconsciously tap two of the pokeballs at his waist as he told him that. He quickly returned his attention to the Champion's tale.

"Anyways, I got news from my father that the entire colony had been taken." Steven said with a scowl. His fists clenched at the memory. "They were our pokemon, our neighbors and friends for generations. They would have swarmed anyone that came within a mile of their mine. Considering that Pierce disappeared the next day and had been acting strange for the past few months, we realized that he must have been connected to it rather quickly."

"I began my hunt for him. There was no League involvement until one of an agent tasked with stopping Team Rocket's advancement into Hoenn reported seeing Pierce attacking a League group with his Metagross. That's when I began my search in earnest." Steven sighed before continuing.

"It took me a year, but I finally managed to track him down to the Rocket's base in Hoenn. He'd taken control of the Hoenn branch and was promoted to Executive, I later learned. I led the attack on it and we permanently removed Team Rocket from Hoenn. We already had our own Teams to worry about."

The Champion's eyes darkened and he scowled. "We drove them off and arrested almost all of them, but what we found wasn't pleasant. Almost every single Rocket had a beldum or one of its evolutions. Pierce's second-in-command had a metagross, although it was badly trained. But we found what happened to the one's that weren't used for the Hoenn branch. Most were experimented on, forced to fuse into metang or metagross before they were even mature enough to know what they were. The results…weren't pretty. Most were permanently insane."

Ash sympathized with Steven. He'd never been in that exact situation, but he'd seen the experiments and drugs the Rockets pumped into pokemon. Just the memories made him furious. Infernus had almost been amongst their number.

"You've seen what a metagross can do." Steven said softly. "Even a badly trained or inexperienced one is capable of wreaking havoc. Before trainers, a single metagross could destroy an entire town in a day. Metagross are one of the two most powerful pokemon species in Hoenn. They are only matched by salamence in Hoenn and only a few other species in the entire world. When they were driven insane by the process, most of them dealt with it the only way they could: Rage. We tried to fix them, but Metagross told me that they were unfixable." Steven said sorrowfully, his fists white as he clenched them.

The younger trainer had a bad feeling about what Steven was going to say next. There was only one solution when dealing with frenzied pokemon that powerful. Locking them away wouldn't work since they could tear their way out of anything thanks to their immense strength and it would be cruel to entomb them forever. Metagross were nearly immortal, or so Steven had said. They were creatures of steel, living but undying until they were destroyed. And if Team Rocket discovered their prison and released them…

"You know what we had to do." The former Champion said tightly. "There was no other way."

Ash didn't say anything. He just sighed and looked away. There wasn't anything to say to that anyways.

Steven wasn't done, however. "As you might have guessed, Pierce escaped. I looked for him, but it was another year or so before Lance sent me word that Pierce had been spotted in Kanto. I always expected him to be in the Rocket homeland, but I never had a chance to look."

The Master leaned back into his chair and closed his eyes. "I think you know what happened next. I gave my title to Wallace after he proved capable and came to Kanto. It was time for a vacation anyways. There are lots of rare stones in Kanto that haven't been swept up yet and a few legendary ones that I wanted to seek out. Pierce was my main objective, but the Rockets disappeared whenever I drew near."

"Until Mt. Moon." Ash interjected, the memories flashing through his head.

"Until Mt. Moon." Steven repeated with a smile. "It was actually pure chance that I came across him. I had been looking for the Moon Stone earlier, but I noticed something was wrong when the zubats disappeared. You can imagine my surprise when I found their operation. I called in the League and waited for a prime opportunity to strike, but Pierce forced my hand."

Ash nodded slowly. That would be when he, Jonathan and Amelia were being smothered by Muk.

"I caught him and had him locked up." Steven said with a slight smile, although it quickly shifted back into the frown he'd worn this entire conversation. "But his location was somehow discovered. He and other captured Rockets were all broken out of the facility they were imprisoned in. Considering that it was completely destroyed otherwise, we suspect that something extremely powerful did the work."

The trainer frowned as realized something. "You think that the thing that blew up the St. Anne did it?"

"Exactly." Steven smiled. Just as before, however, it returned to being a puzzled frown. "Unfortunately, I have no idea what it is. It's powerful, far beyond even the strongest of alakazam. But it can't be a legendary. From what little we know of them, none would ever help Team Rocket. There has to be another explanation."

Ash didn't say anything. Again, there was nothing to say to that.

Steven shook his head. "I apologize. I went off track. Anyways, after he was broken out of prison, Lance and I went on high alert."

Ash looked over at Lance.

The Indigo Champion nodded. "Pierce is dangerous. He was ruthless and had a metagross underneath his control. Even most gym leaders would be helpless against him and the police wouldn't be able to fight off the numbers and power he wielded. The St. Anne just proved my fears once and for all." Lance sighed, closing his eyes. "That's when I began fighting the Rockets in earnest. They'd never been much of a threat before. Dangerous, yes, but the police were containing them. The St. Anne proved otherwise."

"What did you do?" Ash asked with a quizzical cock of his head. He hadn't heard of any new measures taken against the Rockets.

Lance looked surprised. "You mean you never heard?" He asked incredulously. "The week after the St. Anne Tragedy I increased measures against them. Hypno and alakazam were authorized against anyone wearing a Team Rocket uniform, no permission needed. Rockets were officially terrorists."

"I guess I was on the road that week." Ash said with a shrug, although he was a little bit concerned about the psychics. "Couldn't those psychics be used to abuse people, though?"

The Indigo Champion fervently shook his head. "Sabrina and an Elite Four hopeful named Will – he won the League two years ago and has been training with us since – trained them personally. They're incorruptible and won't allow the abuse of innocents."

Ash nodded in understanding. That made sense. He actually did remember Will vaguely from the Indigo Conference a few years ago. Will had managed to beat Lorelei and Bruno, although Agatha tore him apart.

"Anyways, I think we should let Steven tell the rest of his story." Lance told Ash. Steven gave him a nod.

"Thank you, Lance. After you told me that Pierce was the one that led the attack on the St. Anne, I had a trail again." Steven said calmly. He seemed to have taken the reprieve Lance gave him and used it wisely. Most of his anger was gone. "I knew that he was still trusted and that he would probably be in hiding for a while. Of course, it was the second Rocket Executive you sent us that allowed me to get started."

He smiled at the praise. "Petrel?"

"Indeed. I spoke to him several days after he was captured. He was surprisingly helpful." Steven said with a frown. "He told me information on Pierce and another Executive named Proton. We're still looking for Proton, but Petrel did give us good information on Pierce. All that kept us from taking Pierce were the Sevii Islands themselves."

Steven took a deep breath. Ash figured he was probably tired of talking for now. He'd been going for the last ten minutes.

"It took a week for us to be allowed to bring the League into the Islands." Lance elaborated. He took another chug from his bottle before continuing. "After that we sent Lorelei with about a hundred trainers. Normally Bruno would have gone, but Lorelei was born in those islands. She knows them better than anyone."

"After the League managed to quarantine the spread of the Rockets and force them back to just a few of the Islands, we came in." Steven began. "I contacted Professor Oak and got him to give me your location since I assumed you would be strong enough to hold your own and deserved a chance to strike back at Pierce. I'm glad I was right about that." He said with a small smile. "After that we found you at Blaine's gym and you know the rest."

Ash sat back and thought. He'd learned a lot more than he'd expected, about Pierce and Steven's mission to bring him in. He wasn't really angry with Steven to begin with. A little annoyed, but even that was fading. Hopefully Steven trusted him enough to tell him important things like that in the future, though.

He noticed that Steven looked a little anxious. Lance seemed to approve of Steven's choice to tell him, though, and had a slight smile on his face. Ash thought on everything for a bit longer.

"I don't hold it against you." Ash finally admitted. "I wish you would have told me before I heard it from Pierce, but the past's the past. Nothing can change that."

The former Champion smiled, but Lance interrupted them and stood up, towering over both the trainer and the former Hoenn Champion.

"Good, good. Now everything's fine." He laughed. Lance took another swig of whatever was in that bottle. Ash thought he should probably lay off of it. "So, how about this. We've had enough dark and dreary events and stories for the past few days. We just hurt Team Rocket badly! We should be happy!"

Lance let out a boisterous laugh and regally sat back down into his chair. Ash couldn't help but grin at the display and ignored the slight burning in his muscles. Steven had an amused smile on his face as well.

The Indigo Champion suddenly reached underneath the table and pulled up two more suspicious bottles. He handed one over to Steven, who looked at it with a distasteful look on his face and left it sitting on the small wooden table. Lance smirked and handed over the much smaller bottle to Ash.

Ash looked at it suspiciously. He really didn't think that he should even be holding the bottle. Nevertheless, when Lance gave him a "go on" motion, Ash took the cap off and smelled the bottle.

He recoiled from the bottle with a disgusted look on his face, nearly dropping it. Lance laughed and took the bottle from him in an easy, smooth movement.

"I figured that would happen." The Indigo Champion laughed again as he placed the bottle under the table. "You do seem like a Steven."

"A Steven?" Ash asked curiously. Steven rolled his eyes and pushed his own bottle over to Lance, who happily took it back.

"Someone who doesn't do anything fun." Lance said as he leaned back in his chair, sending a joking smirk towards Steven.

"Someone who doesn't do anything stupid." Steven corrected drily. "And really, Lance? Trying to give an eleven year old alcohol?"

Lance shrugged. "Just a little bit. One celebration drink isn't going to hurt him. Besides, he needs to loosen up a bit."

Ash blinked and stared at Lance. The Champion caught him staring and laughed again. "Well, since Steven doesn't follow the traditional way to celebrate our victory, I guess we'll just have to pass the time a different way. Anyways, did either of you ever hear about that time I beat…"

He grinned as Lance went off into a rather entertaining story and relaxed. It was a nice day and Lance was right – he needed to loosen up. For today, at least.

The time passed rather quickly after that.

XX

The familiar volcano of Cinnabar loomed in the distance, the only part of Cinnabar Island that was actually visible. Ash stared at it for a moment before heading back to his chair. He'd gotten restless of sitting in one place for so long, but he wasn't quite sure if the pain of getting up and walking around was worth it.

Steven watched him as he walked back over to his chair on unsteady legs. The former Champion glanced over to Lance. "I think it's time that we give him his rewards. I've received a message saying that the crowds are going to be miserable on Cinnabar. It's simpler to do it now."

"Alright." Lance shrugged. "Sit down, Ash. I've got something for you."

Ash watched Lance pull a pokeball off of his belt with anticipation. Lance casually released his absolutely massive Dragonite, who caused the small ship to sink a little in the front.

Dragonite patted Lance on the back and cheerfully waved at Ash and Steven. They both returned it with a smile.

"Dragonite, remember what I told you this morning?" Lance said. Dragonite nodded and casually pulled a loose, awkwardly placed scale from its body and handed the scale to Lance. A new scale, bright and perfectly placed, was revealed to be underneath the old one.

"Here's your reward from me." Lance told Ash, handing him the Dragon Scale. Ash looked at it in awe. The scale was small compared to Dragonite's new one and it was still larger than his hand. It weighed about half a pound and was nearly an inch thick.

"I think you deserve a dragon of your own." The Indigo Champion grinned. "You've earned it."

Ash's eyes were wide and excited as he placed the Dragon Scale into his pack. He'd expected something like this, but actually receiving a gift from Lance was an honor in itself. The fact that it was from one of Lance's own prized dragons and would help him a lot was even better.

"Thanks!" He exclaimed, his grin as wide as it could be. Lance just smiled back and sat back down, motioning for Ash to look at Steven.

Steven didn't hand him anything, but remained sitting. "I have the same gift for you as Lance – something that will make you a better trainer and evolve your Nidorino."

"A moon stone?" Ash said, a bit confused as to why Steven wasn't handing him anything. The former Champion smiled.

"Not just a moon stone. A shard of THE Moon Stone." Steven said, smiling as he mimicked their first conversation about it. "Legends around Mt. Moon claim that the Moon Stone makes pokemon that live around it more powerful, pokemon that evolve from it or pieces of it even moreso."

The former Champion dug around in his suit pocket and handed Ash a tiny shard of stone. Ash took it carefully, noting its glossy, smooth texture before examining it more closely. It was impossibly black, seeming to suck all the nearby light into it. No light was reflected.

Ash placed the evolutionary stone into one of his storage compartments. There was no way he would just allow it to just be in his bag. A moon stone was rare enough, fetching thousands of dollars on average. It was a precious thing. But a shard of the Moon Stone? It was priceless.

"It's a little small, but it should be more than potent enough for Nidorino to evolve." Steven explained. "I only took a small sample. The Moon Stone is too important to the pokemon of the mountain to take any more."

"Thanks." Ash said gratefully, amazed that Steven had given him such a unique gift. He wouldn't be able to use it for another few weeks since it wouldn't be safe for Nidorino to evolve until after he had healed, but the fact that he had the shard was much more important.

He tried to extend his gratitude, but Steven just smiled and nodded. Apparently the man knew what the gift meant to Ash.

"You're welcome." Steven said. "By the way, I recommend that you pay a visit to Mt. Moon sometime during your journey. The journey to the Moon Stone is a difficult one, but it is nearly sacred to pokemon that evolve from it. It is a sort of status symbol, or so Metagross tells me."

Ash almost frowned at the mention of a metagross, but held it back. He wouldn't let a single bad experience color his views of the entire species.

"I'll be sure to do that." He commented. "Where are you guys going after this?"

Lance entered the conversation. He stepped away from the large dragon-type and Dragonite suddenly took off, the absence of its massive weight allowing the boat to rise up a few inches. It sped towards Cinnabar Island at an incredible speed, vanishing from Ash's sight after a few moments.

"Dragonite's just going to deliver a message to the harbor master at Cinnabar. He needs to know to prepare for the return of the League forces and Lorelei." Lance explained when Ash looked questioningly at him. "Anyways, I'm headed back to Indigo Plateau. We've got Pierce, but there are plenty of other Team Rocket cells. Perhaps Petrel will give us the location of their headquarters now that Pierce is out of the picture."

"I'm returning to Hoenn." Steven frowned. "Pierce's trial needs to be protected, and Wallace has other duties at the moment. In addition," he continued, his face darkening, "my family and I have some matters to discuss with Pierce. It wouldn't do for me to be absent."

Ash nodded, although he was a bit disappointed. He liked Steven. Even if he knew it was necessary, he didn't want the former Champion leaving.

"I'll be back in a few months." Steven assured him when he saw the disappointed look on Ash's face. He smiled. "I still have a vacation to catch up on, after all."

The trainer grinned. Lance suddenly looked over at the rapidly nearing Cinnabar Island. "Ash, do you have any idea where you're going now?"

Ash nodded. "I'm going home for a few days. Nidorino needs to relax and I'd like to see some of my other pokemon."

Lance looked thoughtful for a moment. "You live near Professor Oak in Pallet Town, right?"

He nodded slowly, not sure where Lance was going with this. The Champion glanced over at him. "Do you have transportation ready?"

Ash shook his head. He hadn't really thought about actually getting there. Since there were plenty of ferries that he could take, it hadn't seemed like it would be much of a problem. It would be quite expensive, but he was hardly strapped for cash at the moment.

"Well, you should thank me." Lance smirked, crossing his arms over his broad chest. "It's Cinnabar's tourist season. You won't find a ferry to anywhere other than the largest port towns and cities."

He cocked his head at the Indigo Champion, hardly understanding why he should be thanking him for that. It sounded much more inconvenient than anything else.

"The message Dragonite is carrying just arranged for a League ferry to take you wherever you need to go." Lance said with a wide grin. "It'll be waiting for you next to where we stop. Just head off of this ship and get onto that one. The captain will get you to Pallet Town as fast as he can."

Ash blinked, surprised by Lance's thoughtfulness. "Thanks! Do I have to show him any identification?"

Lance shook his head as he glanced back over to the growing form of Cinnabar Island. "No. All you need to tell him is that I sent you over."

"Alright, then." Ash shrugged. He leaned back into his beach chair and stared at Cinnabar. It would be nice to go back to Pallet Town. He needed a short break.

XX

"Welcome aboard, trainer!" A short, balding man greeted as Ash tiredly stepped onto the ship. He was very sore and the enhanced recovery had taken all of his stamina. "Champion Lance himself called and gave orders for me to take you wherever you want to go."

Ash grinned exhaustedly at the exuberant man. "Thanks. Could you take me to Pallet Town?"

"Of course!" The man cried out. "If I remember right, that's about a two day journey." The man scanned Ash over. "You look exhausted. Would you like me to show you to your room?"

"Yes, please." Ash responded. About two days of sleep sounded very good at the moment.

"My name's Taggart, by the way." The sailor said as he led Ash into one of the three cabins. "There's plenty of food in the pantries of your room if you ever get hungry, and if you need anything just come to me. You've got free reign of the ship, so feel free to wander around."

Ash nodded his understanding and thanks towards the man as Taggart showed him his room. Taggart slid a card key into the door in order to unlock it before handing the key over to Ash. He gratefully took it and placed it into his jacket pocket.

"And here you are." Taggart said jovially, waving Ash in. "Like I said, if you need anything just come and get me."

"Thanks!" Ash replied gratefully. Taggart just smiled and waved his gratitude away before leaving.

Ash closed the door and locked it before turning around and examining the room. He expected it to be like the ferry he had taken to Cinnabar from Fuschia: dreary, plain, and uncomfortable.

What he found was anything but. It was more like the lavish interior of the St. Anne than anything else, practically reeking comfort. There were several large, soft looking beds for pokemon and one massive bed for him. Four perches were spread throughout the room, each large enough to hold Plume. An absolutely massive aquarium dominated an entire wall. Torrent would definitely be glad to be out of his pokeball.

He grinned as he glanced around the opulent room again. Of course Lance would arrange for him to have quarters like this. Ash quickly released all of his friends except for Infernus. Even with the money Lance had given to him he wasn't sure if he could afford to replace all of this if Infernus burned it down.

All of his friends did what he expected of them by now. Nidorino loyally took a seat by his side and gently rubbed his head against Ash's leg.

Plume chirped and lightly nipped at Ash's hat before hopping over to where she could listen to him speak. Dazed cocked her head and blinked happily at him before standing perfectly still, staring blankly at the bright lights that illuminated the room. She still hadn't gotten out of that habit.

He walked over to the aquarium and released Torrent into the water. Torrent blinked in surprise at being released before his black eyes widened and focused on Ash. The seadra rammed up into the glass in his attempt to touch Ash. Ash just grinned at his friend.

"Hey, Torrent. You did great the other day. We couldn't have gotten that grunt without you."

Torrent puffed up in pride at the praise. He snorted a few bubbles out before ramming the glass again. The thick, powerful material held up quite well against the force. It didn't even show a hint of cracking. Still, Ash would prefer that Torrent not break anything.

"That's enough of that." He chided gently. Torrent cocked his spiky head and gently rammed again, keeping his head against the cool glass. Ash smiled and lightly tapped the area where Torrent's head was pressed. "I've got some good news for you, by the way. I'll tell you in a minute."

His friend snorted bubbles before pulling himself away from the glass. Ash smiled at him again before turning to the rest of his friends and releasing Tangela.

The grass-type blinked in confusion and looked around before settling its happy gaze on Ash. He yelped as Tangela pulled him into a hug with his powerful vines, but laughed and lightly returned it. Tangela tapped him on the forehead with one of his blue vines before letting Ash up.

"Hey, everybody." Ash said with a tired grin. His friends were all incredibly attentive to him, peering at him with loyal eyes. "You all did great fighting the Rockets. Pierce got arrested and the others won't be seeing the light of day for a long time."

Nidorino grunted happily from beside him. Dazed's eyes lit up at the mention of Pierce being arrested, as did Plume's, although the flying-type's sharp eyes also narrowed in anger. Ash glanced over at Torrent. He seemed particularly pleased as well, despite the hatred burning in his eyes at the mention of the Executive.

They were the pokemon that had been with him at Mt. Moon or during the sinking of the St. Anne. Plume hadn't gotten a chance to actually encounter Pierce outside of the battle on Chronos Island, but she hated him with a passion after he had first threatened Ash. Nidorino held the same hatred, although he had actually met Pierce before the Executive stole him.

Torrent only knew of him, but the water-type was just as protective as Ash of the rest. The fact that Pierce had tried to kill him on the St. Anne had made just as deep a mark on Torrent as it had Ash. He was actually glad that Torrent had never gotten a chance to battle Pierce. While he would have been useful Ash wouldn't have been able to keep him from killing the man.

Dazed was much the same. Although less outwardly emotional than the rest of his friends, Dazed held a dark streak when it came to protecting him. He was surprised that she hadn't attempted to attack Pierce during their battle, although he supposed that she recognized Metagross as a greater threat.

Tangela didn't even seem to know who Pierce was and just cocked his head at Ash in confusion. Ash smiled at him, causing the grass-type to make his odd, happy noise.

"Anyways, we're headed back home." Ash continued, unable to hold back a grin. He loved travelling and training, but it would be nice to see his mother and Professor Oak again. Maybe Jonathan and Amelia would be there.

But he noticed that most of his team just looked confused at that. He gave a mental sigh. Of course. Only Nidorino had been to Pallet Town, and even that was only for about an hour.

"Anyways," he repeated, "it's going to be a two-day journey. We won't be doing anything, so all of you can rest or do whatever you want. We've had a hard week."

Nidorino snorted in agreement. Ash rolled his eyes. "So, I'm going to bed soon. The rest of you are free to do whatever you want."

Plume chirped at him and lightly pecked his head. Ash stumbled back a bit, making him wince as his sore muscles screamed in pain. He didn't let it show aside from that, though, and just smiled at Plume. She chirped again and fluttered over to one of the massive wooden perches.

Dazed just blinked at him with an inscrutable expression and turned her focus back to the bright light, completely motionless in her concentration. Ash grinned at her as he slowly walked over to the massive, comfortable looking bed.

His thoughts suddenly flashed to his injured friend. "Hey, Nidorino, do you want me to just release you onto one of the beds?"

Nidorino snorted at him and shook his head. Ash watched sadly as his friend slowly hobbled over to the bed, keeping his head high despite his pain. Despite his pity for Nidorino, Ash couldn't help but be proud. His friend was tough and prideful. No injury would hold him back for long.

His friend carefully leapt onto the bed beside Ash. Ash smiled softly and patted his friend's head. Before he could lay down and took a nap, however, he realized that he'd forgotten to give Nidorino and Torrent the good news.

Ash glanced down at Nidorino. "Hey, buddy, I forgot to tell you something."

Nidorino twisted his head upward and stared at Ash curiously. The trainer grinned. "We got a reward from Lance and Steven. I know you won't be able to use it for a while, but I figured that I should tell you what Steven gave me."

The poison-type grunted questioningly, apparently a little annoyed by Ash postponing the question. Ash laughed. "Okay, I'll tell you. Steven gave me a moon stone, one of the fragments from the Moon Stone of Mt. Moon."

His friend snapped up, looking at Ash with awe in his eyes. If he wasn't so injured Nidorino probably would have tried to tackle Ash in excitement. As he was, however, he just nudged Ash and licked his face.

He grinned as the area Nidorino licked began tingling from the weak toxins in Nidorino's mouth. Ash gently patted Nidorino again before reaching into his pack.

"You're still too injured to use it yet, but when you've fully recovered I'll let you evolve." Ash explained. "But you can see it. Just make sure not to touch it."

Nidorino nodded excitedly, eyes locked on Ash's pack. When Ash pulled the glistening, inky-black stone from the storage compartment his friend nearly salivated. The poison-type just stared at the small sliver of black rock, enraptured in its appearance.

"I'll leave it out so that you can look at it, but promise that you won't get close to it." Ash said sternly. Nidorino nodded without a second thought, his ears twitching at Ash's voice. His eyes never left the shard. "Alright then. Make sure to rest a little."

Nidorino nodded again. Ash sighed and took the Dragon Scale out of his pack. The dragonite scale was heavy in his hand as he walked over to Torrent's aquarium, his sore muscles screaming in protest.

Torrent eyed the scale with barely restrained excitement. When Ash drew closer, Torrent suddenly rammed into the glass at full strength, futilely trying to get to the Dragon Scale in Ash's hands.

"Calm down, Torrent."Ash said softly. Torrent snapped out of his frenzy at Ash's words, suddenly becoming calm and complacent. "Thanks. Lance gave me this."

He placed the Dragon Scale up against the smooth glass of the aquarium. Torrent floated closer until his long snout was pressed against the wall. The seadra stared at the Dragon Scale in awe, shivering in excitement.

"Do you think you're ready to evolve?" Ash asked seriously. "I know that you're pretty young, but you're definitely strong enough. This is up to you."

Torrent didn't even hesitate before nodding. Ash grinned.

"Alright. I'll give you the Dragon Scale when we get to Pallet Town." Ash said. Torrent wriggled excitedly and began floating around backwards. He grinned. "It'll be nice to have you around more often."

Torrent snorted bubbles in agreement and continued to swim around the tank. Ash watched him for a while with a smile on his face as he thought of the coming evolution.

Seadra were almost unique in their method of evolution. They had latent genes that wouldn't be expressed until they came into contact with draconic DNA. The contact would cause the dragon-type DNA to transfer an activator, which would cause the latent genes to suddenly activate in every cell in a fast chain reaction and be expressed, resulting in the evolution into kingdra.

Technically they could evolve into kingdra from any part of a dragon-type or even when battling a dragon, but there was a reason the Dragon Scale was the most common method. Aside from the fact that dragon-types were incredibly rare, the simplest and most pain-free way was to simply get a scale. They were the only part that would be shed into the ocean by aquatic dragonair and dratini, and a mere touch in combat wouldn't allow the activator to work.

At least, that was what his pokedex said. He understood the gist of it, but didn't really dwell too much on the scientific aspects. All Ash needed to know was that he just had to touch the Dragon Scale to Torrent for a few seconds and then he would evolve.

He smiled at Torrent one last time before hobbling back over to the large bed. Nidorino had adjusted to a more comfortable position and was already asleep, his exhaustion overpowering his obsession with the moon stone shard.

Ash picked up the shard and placed it into the storage compartment along with the Dragon Scale. Both of his friends were completely obsessed with their respective evolutionary items and he would like to be able to talk to them over the next few days.

Once they were safely packed away, Ash looked over at Tangela. His newest partner was walking around and looking at each of the exhausted pokemon, confused as to what he should do.

Ash felt guilty for leaving his new friend like that. Tangela seemed lost.

"Tangela." Ash softly called out, careful to not wake Nidorino. Tangela gurgled happily and bounced over to him before tapping him on the forehead with a vine. He grinned and pointed at Dazed. She had turned the lights out and was now staring out the window, enraptured by the bright light of the sun. "Dazed could use some company, and I'm sure you'd love to get some sun. Most of us are going to be asleep."

Tangela made his odd noise and affectionately tapped Ash's forehead again before waddling over next to Dazed. She gave him a cursory glance before returning to her observation. The grass-type lightly prodded her with a curious vine before he gracelessly fell over and basked in the sunlight.

After Tangela was happy, Ash got underneath the covers and relaxed his head into the soft pillow. Exhaustion overcame him instantly, and he was asleep within seconds.

He had no dreams.

XX

Ash strolled through Pallet hesitantly, surprised at just how foreign the place seemed. It was his hometown, but now it seemed as strange and unfamiliar as any of the great cities he had visited.

He had just disembarked from the ship. Taggart had waved him goodbye and Ash had to admit that he was a bit sad to leave the man and the ship. The sailor was good company on the few occasions that Ash emerged from his room and his cabin itself was magnificent.

Of the two days they had sailed, Ash spent about a day and a half of it sleeping or resting. Any other time was spent eating or talking to his pokemon. It was the most he'd relaxed since beginning his journey and was certainly the most comfortable he'd been.

All of his pokemon had enjoyed the ride just as much. Dazed often left the room and explored the ship. She could never sleep, so there wasn't as much appeal in lazing about all day. Torrent wasn't quite as tired as the others, so he spent most of his spare time trying to break the glass of the aquarium, although he never even managed a crack.

The two days of rest did Nidorino good. He wasn't hobbling around anymore, although his movements were still stiffer and displayed obvious pain. Ash suspected he would be able to move freely within another two or three days.

Right now Dazed was shuffling alongside him, able to easily keep up thanks to him still being sore and weak. Ash wasn't sure what had made him weaker, the explosion that caused the damage in the first place or the healing that had drained most of his vitality.

He had his cap lowered over his eyes at the moment. Ash was aware of the curious gazes of Pallet's few inhabitants focused on him. Some of them probably guessed who he was, considering that not many new trainers visited Pallet. Professor Oak didn't hand out starter pokemon to just anyone, after all.

Ash wasn't sure what day it was, so he walked over to the restaurant his mother owned and operated. If it was a weekday she'd be working there. If not she'd be at Professor Oak's or working around the house.

Dazed attracted more attention than he did, Ash noticed. Most people looked at the psychic-type warily, fearful of the hypno. Ash frowned at that. Those stupid stories about hypno made everyone distrust them. Dazed wouldn't hurt anyone as long as they didn't try to hurt her.

It only took a few minutes to reach the restaurant, even with his slowed pace. Despite how strange and odd his hometown was to him, Ash could never get lost in it. He remembered every building and every road of the small town.

The restaurant was empty and dark. Ash smiled. That meant it was a weekend and he would actually have time to talk to his mother without her work getting in the way.

He made his way over to the housing section of Pallet, following the worn dirt path in a daze. It was a short journey since his mom wanted to have work close to home and he was there in just two minutes. There were a lot less people walking around when he neared the houses. Most were probably working at the small harbor or at Professor Oak's.

When Ash finally made it to his house, he just stared for a moment, barely believing that he was back here. It had been about four months since he'd left on his journey. He couldn't believe that he had actually come back to Pallet Town.

Dazed tapped him on the shoulder, yanking him out of his trance.

"Thanks." He smiled. Dazed returned the smile with her sleepy, expressive eyes before Ash walked up to the door. Ash rang the doorbell and waited to see if his mom would answer. While he waited he looked over at the large hill that Professor Oak's laboratory was located at. It overlooked all of Pallet, the dominant feature of the town. Its windmill sluggishly churned, barely visible from where he was standing.

He snapped his attention to the door as it was suddenly opened, revealing the familiar face of his mother. She looked at him oddly, clearly not recognizing him. Ash grinned and pulled his hat up, showing his face.

"Hey, mom."

Ash's eyes widened and he wheezed as his mother pulled him into a rib-shattering hug. He managed to awkwardly return the hug, despite the fact that his arms were essentially crushed. His mother didn't let go of him for another few seconds.

When she finally let him go, Ash took a few deep breaths and winced as he rubbed his ribs. It looked like he would be bruised even worse tomorrow. Nevertheless, he grinned at his mom.

She had faint traces of tears in her eyes as she looked down at him. "Oh, Ash! I'm so glad to see you again! Why didn't you tell me you were coming? I would have cleaned everything up and made you something to eat and –"

"It's fine, Mom." Ash replied, still grinning widely. He couldn't believe how happy he was right now. "I wanted it to be a surprise."

His mom wiped her eyes. "Of course. Come in, I'm sure you must be starving."

Ash's eyes lit up. He might have had plenty of good food onboard the League ship, but nothing measured up to his mom's cooking. The trainer nearly dashed into the house after his mother, pausing only to keep the door open for Dazed.

He thanked his mother before finding a place to sit. The house looked just the way he remembered it. Ash sighed and stared at everything that was so familiar, yet so foreign. It was going to be strange staying in Pallet Town.

XX

"So, who's your friend?" His mom questioned as he finished eating. Ash smiled and looked over at Dazed. She was staring at a clock, tracing its ticking hands with her lightly furred fingers.

"That's Dazed." Ash replied, still watching his friend curiously. "She's my fourth pokemon."

His mom hummed for a moment to signify her understanding. "I guess you never told me about your pokemon. I've met the ones at the Corral, but I don't know any of the others."

A grin split Ash's face. Now that he was done eating he was more than happy to show his friends off to his mother. "Do you want to see them?"

His mom's eyes lit up. Ash sometimes forgot that she was as interested in pokemon as he was. She had been studying to become a Pokemon Professor before she'd met his father, after all.

"Of course!" She exclaimed, quickly standing up and taking his clean plate. "Just let me clean everything up and you can show me."

Ash scratched his head. He didn't want to wait to show his mother his pokemon, but he didn't want to imagine what Infernus would do if he was released inside a house. Torrent wouldn't be too happy about it either, but at least he wouldn't burn it down.

"A few of my pokemon probably wouldn't be too happy inside a house." He explained. "Could we go over to the Corral? I want to see my other pokemon anyways."

His mom nodded excitedly. She seemed even more excited than he was. "I'll just be a minute!"

He smiled and relaxed in his chair. Dazed shuffled over to him, glancing at his mother curiously as she furiously scrubbed dishes and put them away.

"That's my mom." He whispered to Dazed. She nodded in understanding but continued to stare at the woman. "Can you make sure that Infernus doesn't cause any trouble? Nidorino isn't up to it at the moment."

Dazed nodded again, her eyes showing a bit of amusement. Ash shook his head and looked over to his mom. She had just finished getting everything put back up again.

"Let's go!" She said. Ash nodded and stood up, leaving the house after his mother exited. Dazed shuffled after them.

Ash had a smile on his face the entire time. It was nice to be around his mom again. Just talking over the videophone wasn't the same.

XX

As they neared Professor Oak's lab, his mom changed the topic. They'd been catching up a little bit. Ash informed her of how far he'd come, although he refrained from telling her about the Rockets just yet. Professor Oak's promise still weighed heavy on him, but he wanted to have a conflict free day with his mom before getting into the Rockets.

"So, where's Nidoran?" She asked him.

Ash frowned. "He got hurt a few days ago. He'll be fine, but he's not really up for moving around a lot right now."

"I'm sorry." His mother said comfortingly. "How'd he get injured?"

He glanced away. "Just a really tough fight."

His mom seemed to be a little suspicious, but left the topic. They'd just arrived at the laboratory and had rang the doorbell.

Both of them were quiet as they waited for Professor Oak. His mom seemed to want to touch upon a topic, but couldn't manage to get it out. Ash didn't want to force her to talk about something she was uncomfortable with, so he just remained silent.

Before that could happen, however, Professor Oak opened up the door. He had a friendly grin on his face as he saw them.

"Delia, Ash!" He exclaimed. "Come in, come in. Do you need anything? Are you hungry?"

"Oh no!" His mom replied, clasping her hands together. "Ash is actually here to show me his pokemon."

Professor Oak nodded and grew serious all of a sudden. "Ah, yes. I actually need to speak to you about your Golduck, Ash."

Ash inwardly groaned. He should have known that Golduck would cause trouble. "What did he do?"

"He's been attacking the other pokemon." Oak replied. He narrowed his eyes at Ash. "I know that you have difficulty with him, but you need to speak to him during your visit. If his aggression continues, I will either have to bring out dragonite or keep him in his pokeball for extended periods of time."

"Understood." Ash replied, his face hard. He liked Professor Oak. He wouldn't let Golduck cause any more trouble.

Professor Oak lightened up after that. "Anyways, I'll take you to see them."

The Professor led Ash and his mother to the wide fields of the Oak Corral. There were hundreds of different pokemon wandering around, playing or simply investigating the area. Most were grouped up with their own species.

Packs of growlithe – one led by an old, absolutely massive arcanine that Ash recognized as Professor Oak's – ran around, yipping and shooting small embers at each other. Rattata and raticate hissed whenever they came too close and some of the trees at the back of the fenced in area were completely filled with pidgey and several pidgeotto.

Ash grinned when he saw a large herd of nidoran congregating in the center of the largest field. They were led by a large nidoqueen. Members of both genders were present and several Nidorina sat in the midst of the group, playing with the young nidoran. Two nidorino guarded the group, eying the rest of the pokemon in the area distrustfully.

Oak noticed Ash's stare. "Ah, yes, how is your Nidoran coming along? I haven't seen him since you left my lab."

"He's doing great!" Ash grinned, happy to talk about his friend. Dazed rolled her eyes as she shuffled alongside him. He ignored her. "He evolved a few months ago, but he's hurt right now."

The Professor sent him a serious look, clearly asking him if Nidorino had been hurt against Team Rocket. Ash gave the man a guilty nod when his mother looked away for a moment. Oak sighed and shook his head.

"I suggest you keep him away from the herd. The two nidorino don't like newcomers. They barely tolerate the other pokemon at the Corral." Oak explained as they walked past the herd. Both nidorino growled and extended their barbs as they passed. Ash just snorted in amusement. Nidorino would easily beat both of them.

As it was Dazed's sleepy eyes widened in glee and her eyes glowed. Ash smiled as she used a weak psychic to kick up some dirt in the poison-types' faces. They sputtered and snorted before warily glancing around.

"What other pokemon do you have, Ash?" His mother asked as they passed a frolicking group of oddish. She smiled at them as the group passed. "I know about Nidorino, Dazed, Pidgeot, Zubat, Golduck and Machoke but you've barely mentioned any of your other pokemon."

"I've got Torrent, a seadra, Infernus, a magmar, and Tangela." He recounted. "Infernus is just a bit temperamental. He's the one I didn't want to release inside the house."

His mother nodded in understanding. Professor Oak frowned. "A seadra? In that case, let me take you to a pond. I'll have one of mine find the rest."

Oak whistled. The huge Arcanine that was playfully rolling on its side and letting three growlithe jump on top of it suddenly leapt up and gracefully ran over to the group. The growlithe yipped in annoyance but followed Arcanine.

Two of the growlithe ran over to Ash and his mother, playfully jumping on their legs. Both of them just laughed and scratched behind the fire-types' ears. The last tried to jump onto Dazed. She gave it a disdainful glare and caught it with a psychic, gently placing it onto the ground. Undeterred, the puppy tried again only to meet a similar result.

"Arcanine, go find that Machoke you like to play with and the Zubat he stays with. Bring them to the lake."

Arcanine barked loudly, a wave of heat carried by his breath. The massive dog disappeared as it ran quickly, its age not hindering its incredible speed in the least. Each of the growlithe ran after it as fast as they could barking and yipping as they futilely tried to catch the great canine.

Oak smiled at the disappearing dogs fondly before motioning for the group to continue. "Your Machoke has been staying around your Zubat ever since he got here. When he's not keeping Golduck under control, they're inseparable."

Ash couldn't hold back the smile that split his face when he heard that. He was glad that Bruiser was helping Seeker. She needed it.

Then he realized that Oak had forgotten someone. "What about Golduck?"

Oak's face twisted in distaste. "He'll be somewhere around the lake. That's his usual haunt when he isn't attacking any of the other pokemon."

"Has he hurt any of them?" Ash asked worriedly. Golduck had been disrespectful and haughty, but he hadn't seemed the type to attack other pokemon.

"No." Oak said stonily. "Not beyond the usual they get from their little mock battles. Most of the time your Machoke or Arcanine take care of him before it gets serious. If he had, I would have had Dragonite knock some sense into him a long time ago."

Ash nodded again, still frowning. He would definitely have a talk with Golduck. It didn't matter if the water-type liked him or not. There was no excuse for causing trouble.

After a few more minutes of walking, they left the rolling hills and entered a patch of light forest. Trees and vegetation were sparse, but what was there was completely occupied by pokemon. Pidgey, spearow and rattata were everywhere, although the rodents quickly scurried away from wherever they stepped.

His mother was uncharacteristically quiet the entire journey. Ash tried not to focus on it too much, but he couldn't help be a little nervous about it. If he had learned anything during his life, it was that his mom hated silence. It worried him, but he knew that she would say what she needed to sooner or later.

About a hundred meters into the forest, it opened up into a large lake. Ash had visited it several times before with Gary, but it had been awhile. He smiled fondly at the memories of the two playing while Professor Oak's Arcanine watched over them with vigilant eyes.

"Ah, there's our troublemaker." Professor Oak said. He pointed Golduck out to Ash. The water-type was quacking furiously on the other side of the pond, flanked by a confused looking psyduck and an abnormally large krabby. "That's his little gang. That psyduck just wandered in here one day and Gary caught the krabby a few weeks ago."

Ash frowned. It looked like the group was trying to intimidate a small, yellow rodent. Golduck menacingly stepped forward and his head began to glow, but the yellow rodent suddenly released an absolutely massive blast of electricity that dropped all three of the water-types.

"Ah, that's my Pikachu." Oak said proudly as he began to walk over to the nearly unconscious water-types. "I found him about two hours after you left. He was chewing on some cables. He's actually been quite good at keeping most of the pokemon in line."

Pikachu's ears perked up and he chattered excitedly as Oak walked closer. The rodent quickly scrambled over to Oak and climbed up the older man, settling contentedly on his shoulder. Oak smiled and scratched underneath the mouse's chin.

"Good job, Pikachu. Were they going after one of the squirtle again?" He asked. Pikachu nodded and chattered on. Oak smiled and turned to Ash. "This is Golduck's trainer."

The mouse cocked his head and glared at Ash. His small red electric pouches sparked dangerously, but a reprimanding tap on the head from Oak caused him to stop.

"He's here to help out." Oak explained. Pikachu narrowed his eyes at Ash and nodded. "Well, Ash, you should start releasing your pokemon. It'll be a few minutes before Arcanine and the rest get back."

Ash nodded and released all of his friends. Nidorino grunted softly and stuck close to him, although he grunted a greeting towards Professor Oak and his mother. Apparently Nidorino remembered them from all those months ago.

Plume shrieked out a welcome and hopped over next to Ash. She curiously cocked her head at Professor Oak and his mother before lightly nipping Ash's hat. He smiled softly and gently stroked her crest, making her chirp in happiness.

Torrent was released into the water. He kept his head above the motionless water of the lake and gave Ash a friendly rumble from deep within his scaled chest. Ash grinned widely at him and nodded, silently letting Torrent know that Ash was going to be keeping his promise.

Tangela was next. He took a moment to become aware of his surroundings, but quickly pulled Ash down into a hug with his vines. Ash laughed and patted his newest friend on his vine-covered head before Tangela let him go. When Tangela realized that there were other humans present, he waddled over and shook both of their hands with his blue vines. Both Oak and Ash's mom had much the same reactions Ash did, although their surprise covered it up a bit.

When Tangela was done greeting the humans, he waddled over to the fallen Golduck and lightly ran his vines over the water-types form. Although Golduck was conscious he was too weakened to do anything about the invasion of space other than quack in an extremely nonthreatening manner.

Last, but certainly not least, was Infernus. He roared when he was released and shot his powerful flamethrower high into the sky, disturbing a flock of pidgey resting in a nearby tree and causing them to fly away in a panic. Infernus seemed to snicker at the fleeing birds before he looked at Ash and nodded his greeting. Ash nodded back with a grin. It was nice to see Infernus again.

"Hey, everyone." Ash said. "This is my mom and Professor Oak. I just wanted to introduce you guys to them. We're going to be taking it easy for a few days."

Only Infernus seemed to have a problem with that. He snorted a great blast of fire and smoke and gave a deep rumble from within his chest. Ash just rolled his eyes as Infernus stalked over to Golduck and kicked him.

"Wait until he's able to fight back." Ash ordered. Infernus snorted again but did as Ash asked. He sat down and curled up on the sandy shore of the lake.

"They're all so cute!" His mom gushed. She immediately began to fawn over his pokemon, but made sure to keep away from Nidorino's dangerous horn and barbs. Tangela and Plume seemed happy to receive the attention, but Dazed just sat there vacantly and tried to ignore his mother. His mother didn't even try to go near Infernus, more than aware of his bad temper.

Ash just watched with a slight smile on his face. She didn't stop petting and complimenting them for nearly five minutes. As she stood up, Arcanine bounded over to them, Bruiser and Seeker coming close behind. Seeker was cradled in his large, muscular arms to prevent the sun from damaging her.

When Bruiser stopped in front of Ash, he gave the trainer a sort of salute and made a happy grunt. Ash grinned back. "It's good to see you too, Bruiser. Has everything been good for you?"

Bruiser nodded but pointed over at Golduck. The water-type was beginning to stand up, the immense damage from Pikachu's attack having healed a bit. He still couldn't move very well, but Golduck was making progress.

"I've heard about him." Ash said darkly. "I've heard that you've been doing a good job keeping him check, though. Thanks for that."

The fighting-type beat his powerful chest proudly, letting Seeker go in the process. Seeker suddenly launched herself towards Ash, slamming into his chest and making him take a step back at the unexpected contact.

"Hey, Seeker. I missed you too." Ash said fondly, lightly scratching behind her furry ears. Seeker clicked in excitement, digging her hooks into his chest. He didn't mind that much. He'd had much worse pain over the course of his journey. "You've been good, haven't you?"

Seeker chattered and clicked before crawling around him onto his back and taking her place. Ash grinned and looked over at his mom. "This is Seeker. I got her from…"

His voice faltered a bit, the pale face of the dead grunt flashing to the forefront of his memory. He shook his head and cleared his thoughts.

"I got her after Vermillion." He continued, making sure his voice stayed strong. "She was a lifesaver in the Seafoam Caverns."

"Thank you!" His mother said warmly, stepping closer to him and scratching Seeker's ears. "How did that go, by the way? You only gave me a few details. Samuel told me about his own experiences there. It must have been exciting!"

That was one word for it, he supposed. He almost said that he saw Articuno, but that immediately died. Even if Captain Stewart had said he would be fine to tell people he trusted about it, Ash just didn't want to tell anyone else. It was a private thing, something he would treasure his entire life.

"It was cold." He stated simply. The corners of Professor Oak's mouth twitched upwards as the older man's eyes became lost in memory. "There were really strong pokemon there that swarmed me, and I caught Golduck over there. Nothing too exciting."

Golduck quacked furiously at him from where he stood, but was still too weak to try anything. Infernus just snorted and lazily stood up. He casually walked over to the trembling Golduck and pushed him over. The fire-type's eyes glinted in dark amusement as Golduck toppled over, unable to keep himself standing.

Ash just sighed. He'd deal with Golduck later.

"How deep did you go down?" His mother asked curiously. Ash grinned. He wouldn't mind seeing Professor Oak's reaction to this.

"To the bottom levels." He smiled, sending an amused glance at Professor Oak. The Pokemon Professor looked stunned. His mouth was open in surprise, clearly not expecting that answer. Ash had left quite a bit out in his previous explanation to Oak. "I still had plenty of rations, but I got lucky and found a passageway that led to the surface."

His mother looked relieved at that. Ash wondered what kind of stories Professor Oak had told her. They were likely true, considering how vividly he remembered those brutal explorations, but he'd have thought that Professor Oak wouldn't want to worry his mother.

"Anyways, this is Bruiser." Ash said, changing the topic. He gestured to Bruiser as he did so. "I caught him on the way to Fuschia. He helped out a lot in the Caverns."

Bruiser grunted a greeting to Delia, who smiled and waved back. "It's nice to meet you!"

The fighting-type nodded in return, although he looked a bit uncomfortable with the conversation. Ash talked more to his pokemon than he did most of the people he came across, but he still didn't talk that much. All of them were usually so tired after travelling that they just didn't feel like making conversation.

"And I guess that's it." Ash shrugged. "I guess we can go back home now."

Professor Oak nodded. "Before you leave, however, there are a few things I would like to speak to you about. Will you be leaving now?"

Ash shook his head. "I'm going to talk to Golduck now. I'll meet you two later."

"Alright!" His mom exclaimed. "I'll go home and start cooking. That snack you had before you came here wasn't nearly enough! What do your pokemon eat, honey?"

The trainer frowned. He usually just fed them ordinary pokemon food or scraps of his own. Tangela didn't need very much pokemon food if he got enough sunlight for photosynthesis to augment his energy intake, but Ash just fed him the same as the others. It was what most trainers did. Feeding pokemon anything else could be prohibitively expensive, although thanks to Lance's gift that might change.

"Ah, you just use the trainer's diet?" Oak said amusedly. He turned to Delia and explained. "Feeding pokemon on the journey is expensive and difficult. There normally just isn't enough room in a trainer's pack or storage compartments to carry food for each pokemon. A few bags of general food is more than enough."

"Oh." His mother said with a frown. "I don't think I have any pokemon food. I usually just feed Pikachu normal food."

Professor Oak glanced at Ash. "I'll tell you what each of them would like to eat while Ash has his talk with Golduck."

His mother nodded and the two walked off with Arcanine elegantly loping alongside them. Ash watched them for a moment before turning back to Golduck with an annoyed expression. The trainer stepped towards Golduck, who had mostly recovered from the electric attack.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ash hissed. Golduck just stared at him with a sour expression, clearly annoyed with Ash. "I didn't send you here so that you could bully other pokemon and cause trouble. I sent you here because I thought it would make you happier and better-tempered."

Golduck just rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. Ash frowned and took another step forward.

"Get your act together!" He said sternly. "I didn't care that much when you disobeyed or caused trouble around me, but I won't let you cause trouble for Professor Oak. He has too much on his hands to bother with you."

The water-type quacked nonchalantly and looked away. Ash had enough.

"Listen to me." He commanded in a dangerously calm tone. Golduck slowly turned his head to him but kept his rebellious, haughty expression. "I've had enough of your attitude. I caught you, so accept it! Maybe I would let some of this slide if you actually had the power to back up your attitude, but you don't! Any member of this team could beat you in a battle, so shape up!"

Golduck's eyes and forehead glowed brightly with psychic energy as rage from his offended pride bubbled inside the water-type. He flashed towards Ash and spit a high-powered jet of water directly at the trainer's head. None of Ash's pokemon were prepared or ready to intercept the dangerous attack.

Ash's eyes widened as he saw Golduck move and he tried to duck to the side, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to dodge the water gun. It was fired at a force powerful enough to cut through steel, he had no idea what it would do to him.

He suddenly felt the light, furry weight on his back vanish and heard a high-pitched shriek before he felt a spray of water that left intense, stinging pain all over his exposed skin, but he didn't feel any of the horrible pain he'd been expecting. Ash slowly opened his eyes and suddenly grew furious.

Seeker was crumpled on the soft soil just a few inches in front of him, her small form bent inward from the force of the water gun she had taken for him. He could see blood oozing from her soft blue fur. Ash froze for a second before looking at Golduck with pure rage.

"Knock him out." He said flatly, too furious for any emotion to enter his tone. Ash knelt down and carefully picked up Seeker, cradling the small zubat to his chest. The trainer was gentle as he placed her back on the ground, taking care to leave her in a position that he could examine her injury.

The center of her body had a large, bleeding hole in it. It wasn't deep, but Seeker wasn't made to take a serious hit. She was fragile. Around the hole her blue fur had been torn off by the high-pressure blast, exposing leathery skin that was extremely light mix of purple and grey.

Ash calmly took one of his super potions from his bag and glanced over her bleeding wound again. Seeker was in danger. The super potions would stabilize her, but she needed serious help.

"Plume!" He called out as he sprayed the super potion onto Seeker's wound. The skin began to knit together at the edges, but the important thing was that her bleeding had mostly stopped. It would only be temporary, however.

His friend shrieked and gently landed next to him, taking care to avoid kicking up any dust. Her eyes were initially fierce, but they softened as Plume looked at Ash and Seeker.

"I don't have her pokeball." He explained to Plume. "I need you to find Professor Oak and give her to him. He'll know what to do."

Plume chirped sadly in response and raised one of her massive talons for Ash to place Seeker into. Ash gently put the unconscious zubat into the outstretched talon, making sure that Seeker was secure in Plume's grip before he let the brave zubat go.

His friend immediately took off, slower than she normally would thanks to the precious luggage she bore but still faster than he could have gone. Ash watched Plume go for a moment before he turned back to the scene of the battle with furious eyes.

Golduck was unconscious. Nidorino had his horn lowered to the water-type's throat, although he was completely motionless. Ash frowned at that, but knew that he was lucky Nidorino hadn't gone any further. If he had been hurt, Ash shuddered to think what would have happened.

Infernus looked down at Golduck with a disgusted expression. He placed a burning foot upon the water-type's chest and caused the earth around him to explode upwards, hurting the unconscious Golduck even more. The fire-type would have done more, but Ash walked over and shook his head.

"Leave him. Tangela, stun spore." He commanded in a stony voice. "Dazed, keep him hypnotized if he wakes up. I'm going to get his pokeball. The rest of you stay here."

Dazed nodded, her eyes blazing a bright blue. Ash nodded at her before he ran off, sprinting madly across the forest. Rattata skittered before him, leaping out of the way of the frenzied trainer as he tore through the woods.

His vision was a blur as he raced out of the forest and across the large, open fields of the Oak Corral. Ash was barely aware of where he was, only that he needed to get to Professor Oak's laboratory and make sure Seeker was safe and then get Golduck's pokeball.

After what seemed like an eternity of running, he arrived there. His mother was waiting outside for him with a concerned expression on her face. She caught him as he tried to run by and looked into his eyes.

"What happened?" She asked worriedly. "Pidgeot just brought zubat back! Professor Oak just sent her to Viridian City."

"I hurt Golduck's pride." Ash said bitterly, wheezing and breathing deeply. His bruises and sore muscles had decided to remind him that he was still injured. Dull, aching pain wracked his front. He'd known that Golduck was angry and volatile, but he didn't think Golduck was that dangerous, that sensitive about his pride. He had never said anything that would really offend Golduck before, and certainly not so bluntly, but this was unprecedented. "He tried to attack me with a water gun. Seeker flew in front of it."

His mother put her hand in front of her mouth, horrified. "But Zubat was badly hurt. How much power did Golduck put into his attack?"

Ash frowned. He knew that even as bad as the injury was for Seeker, it would have been far worse for him. Even the weakest, most fragile of pokemon could take attacks and damage that humans couldn't fathom. What was a bad wound for Seeker would have been lethal for him.

"All of it." He replied as a scowl twisted across his face. "Where's Professor Oak right now?"

"I'm here." Oak announced as he suddenly opened the door. He looked furious, although the Professor reigned his emotions in. The older man glanced at Ash with a frown. "What happened?"

"Golduck tried to attack me with a water gun." Ash said, repeating what he had said to his mother. "Seeker blocked it."

Oak sighed and looked down. "I've been afraid something like this would happen. Once I saw her injury I knew that Golduck was responsible." He reached into his pocket and pulled out Golduck's ultra ball. "I took the liberty of getting his ball."

"Thanks." Ash said shortly as he took the ultra ball. He clenched it tightly, causing the blood to drain from his fingers. "I've got to go get Golduck."

"I can help with that." Oak replied. He placed two fingers into his mouth and whistled. A few seconds later Arcanine came tearing up from the fields, his tongue lolling out happily. "Arcanine, take Ash to the lake. Go as quickly as you can."

Arcanine barked and licked Oak's face before he lowered himself to the ground. Ash quickly found a comfortable position on the great dog's back. A moment later Arcanine took off at an amazing speed. The rolling hills and large laboratory vanished in just a few seconds.

Ash had to duck his head to protect it from the wind buffeting his form. He wound his hands into Arcanine's fur and held on with his legs as best he could. The physical strain it put him through was brutal, but he didn't have to keep it up long. In just a more seconds they arrived at the lake, which was eerily calm considering the events that had just taken place.

The powerful canine barked as he slowed to a trot before finally stopping. Ash leapt off Arcanine's back and onto shaking legs. He scratched Arcanine's large ears and thanked him before turning to his friends.

He glared at Golduck's unconscious form before he returned the problematic water-type. Ash didn't even know what he would do with Golduck. There was no way he would use him again after this, but he didn't even want to own Golduck. No other trainer should be put in danger by the water-type, so giving him to the League was out of the question.

"Let's go, everyone." Ash said with a sigh. Most of his pokemon still looked furious, although Dazed seemed to have calmed down some. She normally had the coolest head of any of his friends, so he wasn't surprised.

Ash returned all of them, but frowned when he realized that he didn't know where Plume was. Only Bruiser remained out and seemed even more furious than the rest. He was eying the ultra ball Ash held with pure hatred, his huge hands clenching tightly.

"She's going to be fine." Ash said soothingly, although he didn't even know if that was the truth. Bruiser was probably the closest to Seeker out of all his friends. He knew that he needed to help calm the fighting-type. "Professor Oak sent her to the Viridian Pokemon Center. They'll make sure she's safe."

Bruiser calmed down a little at Ash's words, but still looked like he wanted nothing more than to snatch Golduck's ball from Ash's hands and snap it. Ash didn't bother rebuking Bruiser. He wanted to do the same thing.

He sighed again, feeling all of the weight from the past few days. They hadn't been easy, and as he stared at the ultra ball in his hand he felt that they wouldn't be getting any easier tomorrow.

XX

They ate at Professor Oak's house that night. All of his friends were quieter than normal, but didn't seem quite as furious or upset as they had earlier. Ash was happy about that. Bruiser remained sullen and upset, but Ash knew there was nothing he could do to help that.

About an hour after Professor Oak had sent Seeker to the Pokemon Center, Ash got some news. Seeker would be fine, although she would have difficulties flying for a few days. She also wouldn't be able to grow fur in the area that the water gun had struck. All in all it was better than Ash had expected and managed to lift his mood a bit.

Right now, however, they were eating. Ash had practically devoured every plate put in front of him, eager to taste his mother's cooking. It was just as good as he'd remembered.

Nidorino was eating from a huge bowl of vegetables and fruits and seemed quite happy from what Ash could see. Plume, who had simply stayed in Professor Oak's home while Ash went to the lake to retrieve Golduck, had a large amount of standard, albeit expensive, pokemon food. Ash supposed that his mother wouldn't want to prepare a caterpie for his friend.

Dazed simply stood in the corner, keeping a watchful eye over Ash. She got her sustenance from his dreams every now and then, so she didn't have much to do.

Torrent was in a large aquarium. Professor Oak had poured some sort of odd mixture of pokemon food and an unknown substance into it, which the seadra happily sucked in through his snout. The water-type was restless as the others ate. Ash assumed that Torrent was anxious to evolve and join the rest of the group on land.

Ash actually didn't know how Infernus ate. The fire-type simply took a bag of pokemon food from Professor Oak and went far away. He could usually go about a week without food before needing more, so Ash didn't have many opportunities to discover that information.

Bruiser had the standard pokemon food as well as vegetables, much like Nidorino. Tangela only ate a few of the dry brown pellets before becoming bored. He was going around and running his vines around everything, apparently fascinated by Professor Oak's home.

But he didn't focus on his friends that much. Ash talked and laughed with his mother and Professor Oak, but his real attention was centered purely upon the ultra ball that sat innocently in the center of the large, expensive table.

When Professor Oak saw him staring at it, he shifted the focus of their conversation. "What are you going to do with him, Ash? The League will take him if you have no other option, but I don't think Golduck would work well with another trainer."

Ash nodded. Golduck wouldn't work well with anyone. "I don't want to give him to the League, but I'll never use him again, not after this."

It was his mother who expanded upon one of the fledgling ideas he'd come up with.

"Why don't you send him back to the Seafoam Islands." She suggested as she began to pick up the plates. "Not many trainers go there, and the ones that do are capable of handling him. It works out for everyone."

Ash's eyes lit up at that. He'd had an idea like it before, but he'd focused on other solutions. "That's a great idea! Can you transfer it to the Pokemon Center there, Professor Oak?"

The older man nodded seriously. "Of course. I have to agree, this is the best solution. If we release a pokemon as temperamental and powerful as Golduck into the wilderness around Pallet, all sorts of problems might ensue. But he'll be balanced out in the Caverns."

Oak stood up and took the ultra ball off of the table as Ash's mother went off to the kitchen. "I'll make arrangements immediately. By the way," Oak said softly once Ash's mother was away, "I don't mind if you wait until tomorrow to follow through on your promise. You've had a stressful day."

Ash nodded in thanks as Oak left, carrying Golduck to his fate. He shook his head. He had actually forgotten all about speaking to his mother about some of his more dangerous activities. But he was still thankful to Oak for giving him some extra time. Like the man had said, Ash had had a stressful day.

He sighed and looked over at his pokemon. Most of them were finishing up their food. They'd gorged themselves and would probably be sick later. Ash had only given them a little bit more food than usual onboard the ferry. His mother had given them a feast.

Tangela suddenly pulled on his sleeve with one of his bluish vines. Ash looked down and smiled at the grass-type, although he noticed that Tangela's wide, friendly eyes held a touch of concern. He yelped in surprise as Tangela suddenly pulled him into a hug, but couldn't help his widening smile at his newest friend's display of affection.

When he pulled back from the hug, Ash realized that he should stop moping. Seeker was hurt, but she would be fine. Golduck was being released. The problem was mostly solved, even if he couldn't help but feel guilty over Seeker's injury.

But he had to look to the future. What was done was done. There was nothing he could do to change that, but he could make sure nothing like that ever happened to his friends again.

He smiled and glanced over at his friends, who were curled up or leaning back, completely sated from the absolutely immense amount of food they'd consumed. It was time for him to relax just like his pokemon were.

It was a vacation, after all.

XX

The next morning, he was sitting in his living room. He'd just finished breakfast. Professor Oak had brought Seeker over to him. She was still unconscious, but she was healed. Ash just had to wait for her to wake up.

Nidorino was comfortably curled up next to him on the couch, contentedly taking a nap. Ash just patted him every now and then as he kept watch over Seeker's tiny, unconscious form. She had been placed on a soft pillow on the small table in front of him.

"Are you okay?" His mother asked in concern. She was sitting across from him reading a book. Ash could see that it had a happy-looking Mr. Mime and Jynx on the cover.

"Yes." Ash replied, wincing at his stony tone. He really needed to start talking to people more often. After so long in the wilderness with only minimal contact with other people – mostly just challenging other trainers and either taking or giving money depending on the victor – he had a little bit of trouble with his tone of voice. "I'm fine."

His mother frowned and leaned forward in her chair, carefully placing her paperback onto the table. "Are you sure? I know you've been through a lot on your journey. The St. Anne…" She began, trailing off as Ash's fists clenched.

"I'm fine." He repeated. Ash wanted to end the conversation right then and there, or at least direct it into a less serious topic, but he realized that now would be the best time to follow through on his promise to Professor Oak. Despite his resolve, Ash still had a bit of trouble in actually saying the words. "But there's probably some stuff I should tell you about."

"What is it, sweetie?" She asked, her eyes wide and concerned. That seemed to be the emotion she expressed most for him these days. Ash couldn't say he blamed her. "Did something happen on your journey?"

The corners of his mouth twitched upward. Ash couldn't even begin to say how much had happened on his journey.

He'd made two friends and lost them in less than two months. He'd made the closest friends he'd ever have in the form of his pokemon. He'd witnessed the destruction of the St. Anne by an unknown entity with more power than he could imagine. He'd taken down an entire Rocket base on his lonesome. He'd encountered the legendary Articuno a scant four months into his journey. He'd battled an international criminal and won.

But he didn't say all of that.

"A few things, actually." He began somewhat nervously. "You know what happened on the St. Anne, but I guess I never told you about what happened in Mt. Moon, or in Celadon, or in the Sevii Islands."

His mother frowned, clearly not liking where the conversation was taking them. "What do you mean?"

"Well, did you ever hear about that Rocket hideout that got busted in Celadon City?" He said, scratching his head. His mother nodded slowly.

"Samuel told me about it. He heard something from his contacts in the League, something about a new tra—" She froze and turned furiously calm eyes on Ash. "You didn't."

Ash wished he could melt into the couch at her blazing glare. "I did."

"Why!" She exclaimed, not shouting but coming very, very close. Her face was turning an odd mixture of red and white from the fear and rage she was experiencing at the same time. "You saw what they did at the St. Anne! You nearly DIED!"

He shrank back even more, silently hoping that Dazed would come by. Then he could just have her put him to sleep until his mother's rage passed over. Despite his feelings, Ash still managed to reply to his mother.

"That's why I did it!" He said back, doing his best to keep his tone level and calm. "I found their hideout and alerted the police, but I had to fight them. I was strong enough and I couldn't let them keep on doing what they were doing!"

"That's what you called the police for!" His mother shouted, finally losing a bit of her control. She stood up and waved her arms furiously as she continued. "They would have handled everything. They didn't need your help, it's their responsibility to fight the Rockets, not an eleven-year old's!"

Ash frowned and kept his cool. His mom had the reaction he'd expected. He didn't want to make the situation worse. "But I did it and I was fine."

"But what if you weren't?" His mother hissed. She looked like she was going to say more, but suddenly paled as some of his words hit her. "Wait, what did you mean when you were talking about Mt. Moon or the Sevii Islands? Did you attack Rockets there too?!"

He nodded steadfastly. "Yes, I did. Well, in the Sevii Islands at least. We just ran into them at Mt. Moon."

"And why didn't you tell me about this?" His mother asked in an icy tone. Her arms were crossed and she was breathing deeply. Ash could tell that she was doing her best to calm herself down and it seemed to be working. Now his mother had regressed into her tranquil fury, not the rage from earlier. "Why didn't I hear about it from Jonathan or Amelia's parents?"

"Well, I didn't think about it." Ash confessed. His week of travelling with Steven had caused him to put the Rocket situation behind him, as had his first talk with his mother. "I don't know why they didn't tell their parents."

His mother sat down, her eyes still iced over with anger as she glared at him. Ash really wished that he could vanish into the air. What was worse than her shouting was the disapproval and disappointment plain in her eyes. That made him feel guilty and put a lump in his throat, much worse than the glazed, indifferent state that her shouting put him in.

"Tell me what happened at the Sevii Islands." She said in an eerily calm tone. Ash was well-aware of her unflinching, hard gaze as he began.

"I went there with some friends." He started, taking care to avoid mentioning the Champions. That wasn't a detail his mother would appreciate. "We went there and helped some fighters out. The Rockets got expelled from the Sevii Islands and I got away with just a few scrapes and bruises."

While that was a bit watered-down and he was stretching the truth a little, he hoped that it would be enough to please his mother. Well, she wouldn't be pleased by the news, but she'd be marginally less furious with him.

Unfortunately, she cut to the issue that he really didn't want her to breach. "Who were these "friends" of yours?" She questioned, fixing him with her hard stare.

"Just some people I met during my journey." He replied, trying to worm his way out of the question. Ash knew that he wasn't doing much more than postponing the inevitable, but at least it was something.

"Who are they?" She said again, clearly not fooled. Ash sighed and leaned back in his chair, trying to get as far away from his mother as possible.

"Lance and Steven." He said, hoping that his mother wouldn't realize just who he was talking about. While there weren't many Lances in the world, there were plenty of Stevens.

Unfortunately his mother did connect the dots for one of the names. "Lance?" She asked, surprise marring her fury for a moment. "As in _the_ Lance? _Champion_ Lance?"

Ash nodded slowly. His mother's right eye twitched. "And where did you meet the Champion, might I ask?"

"Steven." He replied, looking past his mother in order to avoid meeting her eyes.

"And who's Steven?"

"Former Champion of Hoenn." Ash said, still not looking at his mother.

She sighed and buried her face in her hands. "I'm going to have a long talk with Samuel about this." His mother said, voice muffled. She pulled her head up. Ash noted that she just looked tired and sad all of a sudden. Her anger had broken. "Ash, why didn't you tell me about this before?"

"I was afraid that you'd make me stop my journey." He admitted. "I thought that you'd think it was too dangerous."

"I'm not going to make you stay home." His mother sighed, still appearing to be exhausted. "Travelling makes you happy, and you'd probably just run away the second I turned around."

Ash couldn't help a light smile at that. "Probably."

"Just…just try not to do things that dangerous again." She told him tearfully. Ash was surprised at the sudden mood change, but didn't to fight when she stood up and walked over to engulf him in a rib-shattering hug. "I worry enough without knowing that you're fighting Rockets."

He nodded and awkwardly patted her back. She just squeezed him tighter, making him cough a bit. His mother didn't relent however, and Ash was almost afraid that he'd have to get Nidorino to help him get her off.

She suddenly released him and held him by the shoulders. Ash met her eyes as she continued speaking. "We'll talk about this later. I just need time to think."

Ash nodded again and watched his mother as she stood up and walked to her room, regret for putting her through this welling up inside of him. He didn't regret what he did, though. He'd helped to strike major blows at Team Rocket and had saved many pokemon and humans in the process. It was worth it, even if he didn't like making his mother worry.

He collapsed back onto the couch again and just stared ahead, but a light chattering suddenly grabbed his attention. Ash's eyes widened as he stared at the shivering, terrified form of Seeker.

The trainer gently picked her up and nestled her in his arms, drawing his brave pokemon in tight to his chest. She struggled for a moment as she grew more aware, but Seeker stopped when Ash whispered to her.

"Shh, it's me." He said softly, doing his best to comfort his meek friend. She looked up at him, her attention drawn by his familiar voice. "Thank you so much, Seeker. You saved my life."

Seeker chattered something in return and struggled to get out of his arms. Ash gently placed her down and watched her tired, awkward struggle to climb onto his back. When she had finally managed it, Ash smiled and looked back at her.

"I'm sorry you got hurt." He said softly, moving his arm back so that he could gently scratch behind her furred ears. "It should never have happened."

The zubat chattered something in return and licked his cheek, causing Ash to smile briefly before it shifted into a frown. "I have some bad news for you, though."

Seeker whined and grew tense. Ash comfortingly pet her, taking care to be gentle.

"It's nothing too bad." He said soothingly. "You'll just have a bit of trouble flying for a few days and won't grow fur where you got hit. But you'll be as good as new soon!"

Ash smiled again when Seeker chattered loudly into his ear. He resumed his petting of her. "Of course, I bet you don't fly anyways. From what I saw you just have Bruiser carry you everywhere."

Seeker shrieked indignantly and lightly nipped at his neck. It didn't draw any blood, but it made Ash aware of her displeasure.

"Alright, alright!" He laughed. "I believe you. But you'll need him to do that for the next few days. You need to take it easy."

He glanced down at Nidorino, who had woken up during their talk. His first friend was still lazily laying down, but his ears were twitching with interest. "Hey, buddy, could you go find Bruiser? He'll want to know Seeker's awake."

Nidorino grunted a reply and stretched before lightly leaping off of the couch. He was still a little stiff, but he was moving much better. A few seconds later he had left the home through the open door, his keen ears guiding him to Bruiser.

Seeker chattered a bit more into his ear. Ash's smile held strong as she remained clutched onto his back. He didn't say anything to her, but was content with petting the meek pokemon that had taken a potentially lethal attack for him.

The calm setting was disrupted as Bruiser came in. His small, beady eyes were wild with joy when he saw Seeker awake and something Ash recognized as a wide smile split his reptilian face. Ash gently pulled a squirming Seeker off of his back and handed her to Bruiser, who took her and placed her onto his own back with gentleness unexpected from such a powerful pokemon.

Bruiser grunted something to Seeker, who chattered back excitedly. The fighting-type stared at Ash with respect and pounded his chest before leaving to another room. They couldn't go out into the sunlight. Zubat were sensitive to the sun at the best of times. At the moment she was in no condition to brave daylight.

Ash suddenly stood up as Nidorino plodded into the room. He gave his friend a smile before he walked into his mother's room. Nidorino followed slowly behind, still a tad unsteady.

"Hey, mom, I need to ask you something." He said as he walked into the plain room. It was perfectly neat, just like the rest of his house. Everything was well-organized and spotless.

His mother was sitting on her bed reading a book. She looked stressed and her face was a bit blotchy, although she was doing her best to hide it. Ash frowned when he saw the state she was in, feeling guilty for causing it.

"What is it?" She asked a bit tightly, as though there were something in her throat. Ash cocked his head at her in concern before he spoke.

"Do you mind if Bruiser and Seeker stay here while I'm gone?" He requested. "Seeker won't be able to fly and will need special care for the next few days. Bruiser won't be happy if they're separated, and I'm sure that he could do something to help you out."

"Of course!" She answered with a smile on her face, cheer dominating her tone. "I'm sure he'll be useful and I'd be glad to help her out. I owe her as much as you do."

Ash nodded thankfully at his mother before turning to leave. Just before he left the door, Ash glanced back. "Are you alright?"

His mother waved his worries away. "I'm fine." She said nonchalantly. "I just have to think for a while."

The trainer frowned again but left. His mother was strong. She'd be fine.

Instead of returning to the couch, Ash left his small home. He felt a little bit happier and smiled as he took a pokeball off of his belt and examined it.

He had a promise to keep.

XX

About fifteen minutes later Ash found himself at the lake. It was calm and placid, the water still and smooth. Dozens of pokemon were hanging around the lake this time of day, mostly just pidgey and rattata looking for water and shade. A few of the pokemon from the Corral were wandering around and playing, but he didn't pay them too much attention.

Only Nidorino, Dazed, Plume and Tangela accompanied him to the lake. Ash didn't want to disrupt Bruiser and Seeker's play and doubted that Seeker was really up for travel yet anyways, even if Bruiser did protect her from the sun. Infernus was lazing about in a small field that he'd turned into charred wood and ash.

He couldn't help the fond smile that split his face when he thought of Infernus. The fire-type had behaved himself quite well. Aside from spitting a few weak flames towards pokemon that were too curious or too close, Infernus hadn't even gotten in a fight.

That probably wouldn't last long. Ash had seen Infernus eying Arcanine with a measuring eye, apparently judging the old canine to be a worthy foe. He'd actually be interested to watch that battle. Arcanine had been on Professor Oak's powerful team many years ago, after all.

But right now he was focused on Torrent. The seadra was aggressively darting around in the lake, scaring away goldeen, magikarp and the odd staryu. Torrent didn't want anything disrupting his evolution.

Ash stared at the massive Dragon Scale in his hand. It was surprisingly light for its sheer size, but still held an impressive weight. He lightly rubbed his thumb over the rough surface of the dull yellow scale, taking care to avoid the sharp edges and tips.

He glanced up when Torrent gave an anxious rumble, impatient for his evolution. Ash grinned and walked over to the water, kneeling by the lakeside and offering the Dragon Scale to Torrent.

The seadra glanced at Ash with eyes full of gratitude and respect before he reverently touched his spiky head to the Dragon Scale. Ash watched with a small smile on his face as Torrent kept his head to the Dragon Scale.

Ash frowned after about ten seconds. Torrent still wasn't glowing or showing any of the tell-tale signs of evolution. He almost wanted to ask his friend if something was wrong when Torrent suddenly dived underneath the water, splashing Ash.

He coughed and spit up some of the lake water that had gotten into his mouth before watching the lake with worry. Ash wasn't sure if this was normal or not. He resolved to go to Professor Oak if Torrent stayed under for more than a minute.

Wide fingers suddenly tugged on his jacket sleeve. Ash turned his head only to see Dazed standing behind him, her eyes fixed upon the water. When she insistently pulled on his sleeve again, Ash knew that she wanted him to get back.

A little confused, Ash nevertheless followed her until he was a few feet away from the water's edge. He suddenly realized that the entire area had gone completely silent. No pidgey chirped or sang, no rattata squeaked or hissed, no pikachu nipped or squealed in their play.

He looked around and froze at what he saw. Hundreds of pokemon were surrounding the clearing, more arriving every second. Countless pidgey lined the trees, a few sparrow and fearow interrupting the unbroken group every now and then. Nidoran and their evolutions were flocking to the lake, guided by a silent, reverent Nidoqueen.

Arcanine silently leaped into the area with serene grace, leading two dozen uncharacteristically quiet growlithe behind them. The great dog lowered his head but kept his eyes on the water, the normally friendly eyes glinting with an emotion Ash couldn't decipher.

Ash glanced at the shore of the lake and realized that countless water-types were leaping out of the water. They all congregated according to species, a dozen staryu and a single starmie leaping back to give goldeen and a few isolated seaking space. Close to fifty horsea leapt out of the water, which had begun to tremble and vibrate. The horsea seemed as awed as Ash felt. Their small heads were lowered to the water, doing their best to see what was occurring within.

As the last of the pokemon arrived, the lake suddenly surged, small waves beginning to form inside of it, lapping the shore with slowly increasing force. Ash just watched silently, perfectly understanding the incredible awe that the pokemon around him felt.

He had to avert his eyes to the ground for a moment as a small glow lit deep within the lake, bright enough to penetrate from the very bottom. Ash managed to catch a glimpse of Nidorino staring at the water as well, just as enraptured as the others were.

But he almost immediately returned his eyes to the small, glowing form of his friend. It was growing more and more intense, the bright light slowly spreading throughout the entire lake. From the heart of the lake, the immense amount of energy Torrent was producing grew more and more powerful, causing the waves to grow larger and stronger, crashing into the shore with increasing force.

Ash ignored the water that was soaking him, keeping his eyes firmly focused on Torrent. By now the glow had spread through almost the entire lake, making the clear water seem as though it were made of molten silver. The light was almost too intent to look at, but Ash held on as long as he could.

Just as he thought he would have to avert his eyes once again, the impossibly white light vanished. Ash blinked a few times. He still saw stars, but they had regressed enough to where he could actually make out the world.

The waves slowly calmed down, no longer crashing against the shore with unmatched fury. It seemed that with the incredible power released by the evolution, the invisible storm that had swept the area vanished.

He glanced around, noting that the pokemon were still silent and motionless. Ash figured that he should follow their lead.

And then a vast whirlpool formed in the middle of the lake, a huge funnel forming in an instant. Ash's eyes widened as the water churned and swirled impossibly fast, the huge tunnel of churning, foamy water reaching all the way to the bottom of the lake.

Ash was aware that his mouth was open. He'd known that Torrent would become more powerful after evolving into a kingdra but this…this was beyond his wildest dreams. Torrent struggled to make an ordinary whirlpool before, let alone one that could engulf an entire lake.

The pokemon around him remained as quiet as before, even as the whirlpool suddenly died down and the lake returned to its ordinary state at an unnerving speed. He continued to stare at the newly murky water, its clarity marred by the dirt and sediment Torrent's whirlpool had pulled up.

He almost jumped back when a huge cyclone of twisting water erupted from the center of the lake, thousands of gallons of water swirling in the vortex. The cyclone sped towards him, but Dazed and Nidorino remained calm. Dazed even placed a calming hand on his shoulder, one of the few times she actually touched him. Ash was too stunned to notice.

Just as the perfectly maintained cyclone of water would have begun to soak the land and ravage the earth, it collapsed with perfect precision into the water, making a huge splash of water that was mostly maintained in the lake. Ash had to cover his head to keep from being soaked, but when he looked back up he was more than aware of the powerful new creature before him.

Ash examined the kingdra levitating above the calming water with a mix of curiosity and reverence. Torrent stared down at him in return, his expression inscrutable.

The kingdra before him was much larger than Torrent had been, standing at least two feet higher as he levitated above the smooth water. His body was streamlined and elegant, yet had not lost a bit of the power Torrent had possessed as a seadra. A crest-like fin lined the kingdra's cheeks, and the belly scales were far more compact, smooth and interwoven instead of the rough, overlapping scales of a seadra.

A large, beautiful fin erupted from the kingdra's back and his snout had become thinner and smoother. It was lowered at him as the kingdra continued to examine him. His tail was still curled up, but far less compactly than it had as a seadra. Instead it was long and sweeping and much more powerful.

Elaborate horns branched out from the back of the kingdra's head, giving him a wise, regal appearance.

All in all, the kingdra was beautiful, yet the beauty was balanced by the sheer power it exuded. Torrent was now regal and elegant, having grown out of the rough, brutal looks he had possessed before. A new wisdom and air of power engulfed him and glinted in his scarlet eyes.

Ash could barely believe that his little horsea had become this mighty beast of the sea.

Torrent slowly levitated until he was in front of Ash, looking down at him with an inscrutable expression. His eyes were narrowed and glinted with an emotion Ash couldn't fathom.

The trainer was nervous as the powerful kingdra inspected him, measuring him with his intense gaze. Ash had heard of pokemon that didn't respect their trainers after evolution, having grown too powerful for them to command. But he had a greater fear with Torrent. Kingdra were given wisdom when they evolved, knowledge that added a new air to the inspection.

He didn't know what he would do if Torrent suddenly realized that Ash had been a bad trainer in some way. Ash didn't think he had been, but kingdra were intelligent. Torrent would realize things that Ash would overlook.

Torrent suddenly puffed out his chest, proving that habits didn't die with evolution. Ash wanted to flinch as the kingdra grew even larger and more powerful, but he reigned the urge in. He wasn't weak, and he wouldn't let Torrent think that he was.

The tension was palpable. Torrent was inscrutable, and the silence was overbearing. Ash didn't let his gaze slip from Torrent's eyes though, his brown meeting Torrent's scarlet eyes. He could see a new air of regal power within them, accompanied by tempering wisdom.

Dazed's hand tightened almost imperceptibly on his shoulder as Torrent suddenly moved, actually changing his high posture for the first time since evolution. Ash didn't flinch and simply watched as Torrent lowered himself to Ash's level, remaining just an inch above the earth.

Ash noticed that Torrent was still almost a foot taller than him. He stopped focusing on that detail when Torrent closed his eyes. The trainer couldn't help but stare at his friend, now aware of even more details that had changed with evolution such as the lighter hue of his scales and the obvious hardness each possessed.

He clenched the Dragon Scale tight, barely realizing he still held it even as the edge cut into his hand. Torrent was still unmoving and Dazed's hand was growing tighter.

And then Torrent bowed, dipping his powerful body in front of Ash's. The trainer was breathless as Torrent remained prostrated before him, barely believing it. Only Dazed's light tap was enough to get him to move again. He touched Torrent's head and walked closer to the powerful form of his old friend.

"Thank you." He whispered to Torrent. The kingdra gave him a low, happy rumble in response before he pulled himself upward, pausing only to lightly headbutt Ash affectionately.

Ash stumbled back but laughed, making the first real noise since Torrent had began his evolution. The noise seemed to break the spell that had enraptured the pokemon around the lake. They all chirped or squeaked or howled for several seconds, creating a painful amount of sound.

He winced and covered his ears, but noticed that Torrent straightened up and held his head high, clearly appreciative of the roaring cacophony.

And then it ended just as soon as it had begun. The clearing once again became quiet, if not silent. The forest was full of soft noises and rustling as the pokemon returned to their previous activities. Rattata returned to their burrows, pidgey created howling winds as they flew away, the water pokemon created splashes as they returned to their lake.

Soon only Ash and his friends were left. He stood by Torrent and looked up at his new friend.

"Well, you can come on land now." He grinned. Torrent looked down at him with scarlet eyes, curious as to what Ash was doing. "So, no pokeball for you for a while. Let's go."

Torrent rumbled happily as he and the other pokemon followed Ash. Ash slowed only to put the Dragon Scale back into his pack. It was a trophy for him now.

He walked as fast as he could back to his house, a wide grin stretching his face all the while. He couldn't wait to show Torrent to his mom and Professor Oak.

XX

The next day he was walking around the Corral with a bored expression. He only had Dazed walking with him. Nidorino had gone over to the herd of nidoran. Ash noticed that he only had to growl and extend his barbs to get the nidorino guarding the herd to back off.

While he was concerned for his friend – he wouldn't be able to protect himself well if the nidorino decided he was a threat – Ash didn't stop him. Nidorino knew his limits. Besides, Nidorino needed to mingle with his own kind. Arcanine would intervene if things grew too intense.

Torrent was down at the lake. While he could easily live on the surface now, he still preferred the water. He was more powerful there, even with the incredible power he wielded on the surface. Ash couldn't wait to test him out in battle.

Plume circled high above him and Dazed. She had gone off alone earlier and seemed bored when she returned. Considering that her feathers were slightly ruffled and she had a few scratches on her, Ash assumed she had been searching for a battle. It certainly hadn't been fulfilling, though. Plume was more antsy now than when she'd left.

Tangela was lying out in the sun about fifty feet away. A few curious rattata had ventured up to them and nudged the grass-type with their heads. Ash grinned as Tangela suddenly moved a few vines, causing the nervous rodents to squeal loudly and scurry away, although Tangela caught them with his bluish vines and began to tickle them mercilessly.

Infernus was…somewhere. Ash hadn't seen him at his burnt field, so he honestly had no idea where the fire-type had gone. He knew that he would find him in a few hours, however. The fire-type never ventured too far from Ash.

Bruiser and Seeker were staying at his house. The machoke had taken it upon himself to guard Seeker from all threats while she recovered and refused to leave her side. Ash just made sure to spend about an hour with them whenever he went home.

Ash couldn't help but smile. Despite some of the unpleasantness that had happened with Golduck two days ago, he was happy. Everything was calm and peaceful, and nothing could ruin his day.

Even the weather was happy. The sun was bright but not too hot, there were just enough clouds in the sky to provide shade, and there was plenty of wind to keep everyone cool.

As he had thought before, nothing could ruin this. It was idyllic and perfect, and he was going to take the chance to really rela—

"What's up, Ashy-boy?" A snide voice suddenly asked from behind him. Ash froze and turned around with disbelieving eyes.

It looked like someone could ruin his perfect day after all.

**A/N: Well, I hoped everyone enjoyed the chapter! Not nearly as action packed as the last one, but I'm going to take up some of the slack next chapter. **

**Anyways, I'd like to thank everyone that reviewed, favorited, followed, submitted a trainer, or read last chapter. I got tons of support, and it made me feel all fuzzy inside. Try and make me feel that way again (hint, hint). **

**Back to business. I've got all of the OC's I'll need, and they should be making an appearance in a few chapters. I'm sorry if yours didn't get picked, but I had a lot of really good submissions and there were some tough choices. **

**So, yeah. I hope you liked the chapter and make sure to review. PM me if you have any questions!**

**Next chapter should be out sometime next week as well, at least if everything goes according to schedule. **


	11. Chapter 11: GMFO and Rematch

"Hello, Gary." He said tightly. Ash couldn't help but clench his fists. "What do you want?"

Ash turned to face Gary. His rival had his normal smug smirk on his face and was casually throwing a pokeball up and down in the air.

"Nothing much." Gary shrugged, still smirking. "Just a battle. I think it's time I beat you again."

He couldn't help the small smile that crept onto his face. It looked like he wouldn't have to look far for Torrent's first battle after all. Gary had no idea what kind of trouble he was in.

Ash nodded. "Alright, then. But my pokemon are spread out over the ranch."

Gary never lost his smirk and just waved it off. "Go ahead and call them over. They won't make any difference. I've gotten a lot stronger since we last battled. You won't get lucky this time, Ashy-boy."

"Well, I've gotten a lot stronger too." Ash grinned. He whistled and called down Plume. She shrieked loudly as she slammed into the earth in front of him. Plume sent a cursory glance at Gary and looked at Ash skeptically. "Go get Torrent, Infernus and Bruiser."

Plume nodded and took off, the powerful winds her wings produced forcing both of the trainers back. Ash knew to guard his eyes after being in that situation several times before, but Gary wasn't so fortunate.

Ash just smiled as Gary groaned and began to rub at his eyes. The other trainer would be fine by the time Torrent arrived.

"So, four-on-four?" Ash asked in a friendly manner. He almost felt sorry for Gary. Almost.

His rival scowled at him and nodded. "I hope you brought some tissues, because I'm going to destroy you this time. You'll really be a loser."

Ash just kept his small smile on his face and crossed his arms. Torrent would be arriving any minute now. He glanced over at Gary. "I'll use the first pokemon that gets here. Go ahead and send out yours."

Gary rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me what to do, Ashy-boy."

Nevertheless, Gary looked over at the nidoran herd. Ash watched curiously as he whistled, but frowned when he saw the large, powerful Nidoqueen that led the nidoran plod over. She made the ground rumble a little bit as she walked, and Ash glanced at her with a measuring eye.

Nidoqueen was built to take hits. She had thick plates of armor over her, too heavy for weaker physical attacks to penetrate. Even Nidorino and his sharp horn would have difficulty really injuring her without delving into his fledgling psychic abilities or elemental attacks.

But Torrent wouldn't have much trouble. Ash hadn't actually had him use his attacks, but if that display at the lake was any indication his power had grown dramatically. This probably wouldn't even be a battle.

Ash cocked his head curiously when he saw Nidorino staring at Nidoqueen with wide eyes filled with some emotion Ash couldn't quite decipher. He groaned when he actually realized that Nidorino was "interested" in Nidoqueen. Nidorino hadn't been around others of his species, so Ash supposed that he shouldn't be too surprised, but it might cause problems in the future.

Besides, Ash hadn't thought Nidorino would go for Nidoqueen. The matriarchs were completely infertile, after all. Still, he wouldn't talk to Nidorino about it for now. There was nothing important going on yet.

"Your Nidorino won't be able to beat her." Gary sneered, motioning proudly to the massive creature standing next to her. "I've been training her for weeks now. She's crush him."

Nidorino growled deeply, something Ash could hear from where he was standing. Ash smiled softly and heard an odd trumpeting noise from behind him. Torrent had arrived, although he wasn't visible yet.

"Who said I would be using Nidorino." He retorted. "He's injured."

"What?" Gary said, looking shocked. "But you always use it!"

"Not this time." Ash said with a wide grin as he saw a large, blue form from the corner of his eye. He looked at the regal form of Torrent and pointed at the powerful water-type. "Gary, meet Torrent."

Gary paled, but it was replaced by anger a few seconds later. "How did you get a kingdra!?"

"Skill and luck." Ash shrugged. He smiled fiercely. "But enough talk. Let's get this battle going."

His rival scowled and nodded. Both trainers walked far away from each other until they were a safe distance from any attacks. Nidoqueen and Torrent took their places in front of their trainers, staring each other down with determined eyes.

Ash started the match. Torrent was slower outside of the water, but he was still much faster than Nidoqueen.

"Smokescreen." He commanded. "Then use ice storm."

Torrent quickly obeyed, blasting huge quantities of oily black smoke from his snout until it obscured the battlefield. He moved all the while, levitating back and forth to prevent Nidoqueen from attacking.

"Charge it and use superpower!" He heard Gary cry. Ash frowned at that. It would work perfectly into his strategy, but why would Gary have Nidoqueen charge headfirst into a smokescreen?

Meanwhile, Torrent had blasted a huge amount of frozen air around the clearing, causing the air to become thick and hazy. Ash felt the chill from where he was standing, a testament to its strength. Then Torrent levitated backwards with astounding speed and rumbled loudly as he pointed his head up and began to rapidly spin, whipping up powerful winds. About three seconds after he began he was standing within a tornado, barely visible from outside the cocoon of rapidly whipping wind.

Ash saw Nidoqueen burst through the smoke, charging as fast as she could at Torrent. He frowned when he saw her rear her head back as she charged, but didn't think anything else of it as Torrent released the twister, sending it spiraling through the area of frozen air. The twister carried the cold air and thousands of small, sharp chunks of ice with it, becoming far more dangerous.

Nidoqueen continued charging, collecting small particles of brightly glowing orange and white energy before she released them in a powerful hyper beam. It slammed straight into the ice storm and weakened greatly, although it passed through. Ash didn't have to call out a warning. Torrent lazily levitated away from the weakened hyper beam. It flashed off into the distance before it hit a tree, completely destroying it even in its weakened state.

He was actually impressed when Nidoqueen managed to keep on charging. Most pokemon required a period of rest after using a hyper beam. Either Gary had trained her extensively in its use or he had found an incredibly powerful Nidoqueen.

But he wasn't impressed when the tired Nidoqueen heedlessly charged straight into the powerful, freezing winds. She was trapped in the icy vortex, Torrent controlling the twister in order to keep it focused upon his foe.

Ash couldn't see anything of Nidoqueen's large form but a faint shadow. The white, hazy twister obscured his view. All he could make out was the cold, heavy air and the small shards of ice as they were whipped into an ever more powerful storm.

And then the storm dispersed, the cold air diffusing into the atmosphere. Chunks of ice fell to the ground and shattered and the winds died down. Ash glanced over and saw that Nidoqueen was lying unconscious, completely defeated by the powerful combination.

"Good job, Torrent!" He called out with a grin. Torrent gave him a happy rumble in return, not even appearing tired from the effort of controlling the storm. The kingdra seemed more excited than anything else.

He could barely make out Gary's expression from across the field, but he could tell it wasn't a happy one. Gary looked to have a large frown on his face as he recalled Nidoqueen, apparently unnerved at how easily such a powerful pokemon had been defeated.

Perhaps Gary would have done better had Ash not surprised him, but it didn't look like he had any good options. Torrent would only really be damaged by dragon-type attacks, and those were astoundingly rare. Considering that he lacked the weakness to ice that allowed most dragons to be defeated, Torrent might as well be unstoppable in this fight.

Gary had a determined look on his face as he sent out a large, proud looking Blastoise. His rival's starter rumbled deeply at the sight of Torrent and crushed his fists together, clearly not intimidated.

"Watch out, Blastoise!" Gary called out. "This one's dangerous."

Blastoise roared his understanding and slammed a foot into the ground. Gary had a focused look on his face as he stared at Torrent. Ash supposed that he was futilely looking for some sort of weakness he could exploit on the powerful dragon-type.

He would find none, Ash knew. Blastoise were only capable of learning a few dragon-type moves if he remembered the pokedex information correctly, and it was doubtful that Gary had taught him any. Dragons were rare enough that it was pointless to prepare for a battle with one.

Ash was content to let Gary make the first move. He was confident in Torrent's power and figured it wouldn't hurt to give his rival a fighting chance.

"Brine!" Gary suddenly shouted. "Then use hydro pump and use rapid spin with withdraw!"

Blastoise reacted quite fast. It quickly fired two large blasts of saltwater from its hydro cannons, each almost too fast for Torrent to dodge. Almost.

Then, before Torrent could send an attack in return, Blastoise pulled its head, arms and legs into its shell. Ash frowned as it began spinning rapidly. He knew what Gary was about to do.

"Twister!" Ash ordered as Blastoise used its own hydro pump in order to launch its heavy body towards Torrent. The rapid spin would prevent hydro pump from working, but Blastoise's momentum would be at least slowed by twister.

As Blastoise flew closer, Torrent's back fins moved slightly. Ash was surprised when an absolutely massive twister, dwarfing the one that had been used in the ice storm, swirled into existence in front of Torrent. His friend effortlessly sent the twister spiraling into the protected Blastoise.

Ash had to admit that Gary's strategy was a good one. If Torrent hadn't been a kingdra, his twister wouldn't have been nearly powerful enough to catch Blastoise in midair, buffet it with heavy winds and hurl it several dozen feet away. In fact, if it had actually managed to hit it probably would done a decent bit of damage to Torrent. Something as massive as Blastoise carried a good bit of force behind it.

Blastoise groaned and pulled itself up from the ground. It brushed itself off and glared at Torrent, who impassively gazed back with his scarlet eyes. While Gary's pokemon was hurt by the impact, it hadn't done any lasting damage.

Gary looked like he was clenching his teeth. "Blastoise, use ice beam and then use rain dance. Follow that with earthquake and protect."

Ash frowned at the varied combination of moves. It looked like Gary had spent quite a bit of money to beef up Blastoise's moves. Despite the variety, it wouldn't do anything.

Ice beam could easily be dodged by Torrent. Even if it did hit it wouldn't do much more than slow his friend down. Rain dance would actually help Torrent. It would give him more water to use in his attacks and make him faster. Earthquake wouldn't affect Kingdra since he levitated.

"Let it use rain dance." Ash said. Torrent rumbled a reply before easily dodging the ice beam sent at him. The vast distance between the two pokemon made the evasion quite simple.

Blastoise roared as a ball of glowing white energy coalesced into its hands. The water-type awkwardly thrust its stubby arms into the air, sending the energy ball flying into the sky. Ash patiently waited. Mere moments later rain clouds began to form over the area, making it darker.

He frowned when he felt the patter of raindrops against his skin. At least he didn't have to worry about the rain getting his hair wet or hurting his visibility. His hat kept the worst of it off.

If Ash hadn't thought Blastoise was powerful in his own right before now, the rain dance proved it. The rapidly increasing severity of the small storm was something only a powerful pokemon could achieve. Considering that Blastoise had probably spent the last four months in Gary's team, Ash supposed that he shouldn't be surprised. It was probably the only permanent member of the team if Gary had caught as many pokemon as he'd said.

Ash felt the ground lurch beneath him, nearly knocking him off balance. The rumbling only lasted for a few seconds, though, so he managed to keep his feet. He frowned again. All the rain was making the ground soft and muddy.

"Now, use withdraw and hydro pump!" Gary shouted. Ash frowned and glanced over at Torrent. No rapid spin meant that his attacks wouldn't be deflected.

"Hydro pump, then blizzard."

Blastoise's shell blasted off of the ground and flew towards Torrent. His friend carried out his commands and shot an incredibly powerful blast of high-pressure water into Blastoise's rapidly approaching shell. It was powerful enough to spend the large, heavy pokemon a dozen feet in the direction Torrent fired at.

Ash grinned when Blastoise pulled his head out of his shell, confused and dazed from the impact. That shell was tough but it couldn't protect him from everything. He grinned wider when Torrent blasted a massive wave of freezing air at the tired Blastoise.

Blastoise had no chance to avoid the massive column of swirling, icy air. It covered an area of nearly a hundred feet, relentlessly powerful and advancing. The blizzard was focused entirely upon Blastoise, and his soaking wet body was frozen over by the freezing air.

"Torrent, break up the rain." He ordered. While it was a bit convenient, it was getting annoying. The rain was growing heavier and hitting harder. His visibility was beginning to get reduced.

Torrent rumbled as he turned his elegant head into the air and spun, creating another swirling twister around him. It collected much of the rain that impacted, but Ash wouldn't be using it for an attack. The kingdra suddenly blasted the twister up into the air. It went straight into the heart of the clouds and seemed to explode, the powerful blast of air carrying the clouds away with it.

Ash nodded his thanks to Torrent as the rain died down and vanished. Gary looked furious and was clenching his fists tightly.

"You won't beat me!" Gary roared, furious at his Blastoise's defeat. "Go, Alakazam!"

That made Ash frown. Torrent probably wouldn't have much trouble, but he knew Dazed needed some practice fighting Alakazam. She would be his prime battler against Sabrina whenever they went, so she needed to be the one to fight this battle.

"Dazed, you're up." He said to his friend. She seemed to smile with her sleepy eyes as she walked from behind him and onto the battlefield, the soft mud squelching as she walked. "Torrent, you did awesome!"

Torrent rumbled and levitated over to Ash. The powerful pokemon took his position next to Ash and happily butted his head into Ash's shoulder, although Torrent made sure to put the bare minimum of force behind it. Despite Torrent's self-control, Ash was still nearly knocked over. He just laughed, though.

"Torrent, you're amazing!" He said happily, patting his friend on the head as Gary sent out Alakazam. The psychic-type's eyes narrowed when it saw Dazed, apparently recognizing the hypno.

Gary's face was red as he began giving rapid orders to Alakazam. The psychic-type levitated over the mud that would slow it down and stared at Dazed, its spoons crossed and trembling with barely restrained power.

"Shadow ball, teleport, thunder wave, shadow ball, reflect, light screen, teleport, psycho cut!" Gary ordered, breathless by the time he finished the long chain of commands. Ash frowned at that. He wouldn't be able to counter that many attacks easily.

"Poison gas all over the battlefield." He ordered. "Shadow ball when it gets close, then stun it."

Dazed's yellow body grew tense as he gave her orders. Her pendulum swayed back and forth, the focus for her power flapping in an invisible wind as she prepared. The hypno's eyes glowed brightly as she opened her mouth and spewed a thick, dark cloud of smog over the battlefield. It would take about a minute for it to fully take effect, but it had already begun to diffuse through the air.

Alakazam suddenly took action. It crossed its spoons and its eyes glowed a dull gray as a small shadow ball formed between its foci. A moment later the small, intense shadow ball flashed towards Dazed. She easily sidestepped it and threw up a powerful light screen as Alakazam suddenly appeared behind her.

Alakazam's small shock of electricity was absorbed by the light screen, melting into nothingness as it impacted the barrier. The psychic-type didn't hesitate in throwing another shadow ball, although it too failed to penetrate the light screen. Ash could tell that it wouldn't be long, though. Dazed's barrier was already thinning and cracking.

But he didn't give her anymore commands. Dazed wasn't an Alakazam. She couldn't take in long chains of commands effectively. She could take care of herself. Ash would only give an order when necessary when dealing with psychics.

Dazed hurled her own shadow ball back at Alakazam, but it had already teleported away. Ash couldn't help but grin when it appeared in the middle of the battlefield, which had become swamped in the oily, poisonous gas. Alakazam couldn't help but cough and choke for a few moments as the poisonous gas entered its lungs.

"Now!" He shouted. Dazed quickly hurled her own shadow ball at the temporarily weakened Alakazam, but the other psychic managed to catch it at the last moment between its spoons, although it was obviously a struggle.

Alakazam suddenly created two thin shells of blue and yellow light over its body, its eyes glowing brightly as it did so. Ash recognized that it was an advanced form of reflect and light screen, one that provided more protection but expended less energy. He'd read about it in the pokedex, but hadn't expected to see it from Gary.

It looked like he really had been training hard. Ash had noticed that he'd improved greatly, but this was a surprise.

Now that the reflect was filtering the air and preventing more of the poison gas from entering its lungs, Alakazam moved again. Ash noticed that it simply levitated about, staying above the gas. He'd expected it to teleport.

But Alakazam just stared at Dazed with glowing eyes. Ash frowned as both of its spoons began to glow brightly, but a spark of realization entered his eyes when Alakazam began swinging them in Dazed's direction.

"It's psycho cut!" He shouted. "Dodge them, your barriers won't do much."

Dazed nodded and prepared to move as glowing white crescents began to fly from the bright spoons whenever Alakazam swung them. They flew through the air at an incredible speed, leaving ripples of cut air behind them.

Ash winced when Dazed proved too slow. She just didn't have the maneuverability that Alakazam did. There was no way she could really dodge the flurries of crescents. They were too fast and she was too slow.

But he couldn't let Alakazam attack Dazed with impunity. "Psychic, then shadow ball." He ordered as calmly as he could. Ash felt Torrent comfortingly tap his head with his snout.

Normally Ash would have Dazed try to evade the psychic attack, but there was no way she could. In this case, the best defense was a good offense.

Alakazam only increased the rate at which it sent the psycho cutters at Dazed's weakened body. The few that had hit had done a bit of damage, but she could still fight back.

As a new barrage of the spinning crescents flashed towards her, Dazed's eyes glowed with the light of the sun. Her pendulum blasted forward and trembled as she sent her own psychic towards Alakazam, the wave of telekinetic force overwhelming and disintegrating the glowing crescents.

Ash smiled softly when the psychic wave slammed into Alakazam, sending it floating backwards several feet. It was clear that the attack did little to Alakazam thanks to its impressive shell of protective energy, but it exposed one of Alakazam's weaknesses: while covered with the barrier/light screen combination it couldn't teleport.

So when Dazed fired a large, swirling ball of shadowy energy, he was secure in that Alakazam couldn't avoid it. He was right in his assumption. The shadow ball slammed into the psychic-type's frail body, shattering its barriers and sending it crashing into the ground.

"Again!" He ordered as he saw Gary prepare to give more orders. Dazed quickly blasted Alakazam with another psychic, although Alakazam managed to block it with his own impressive abilities. But Alakazam couldn't defend against a second shadow ball, which slammed into its chest and sent it to the ground again.

Gary looked desperate. Apparently he hadn't expected Dazed to stay conscious through the psycho cut, let alone be powerful enough to retaliate.

"Teleport behind it and use hyper beam!" He cried out. Alakazam shakily stood up and teleported. A split second later yet another shadow ball flashed through the place it had once been.

"Light screen." Ash grinned. Alakazam had just appeared behind Dazed in a flash of light, the hyper beam already prepared in the moment it had vanished.

Alakazam's spoons were crossed as it released the swirling ball of white and orange energy in the form of an immense, powerful beam. It slammed into Dazed's hastily prepared light screen, golden barrier meeting multihued energy.

Torrent rushed in front of Ash as the world in front of him exploded, taking the entire force of the blast in order to protect the trainer. Ash coughed and patted Torrent in thanks. That could have been bad.

"Thanks, buddy." He wheezed. Torrent rumbled his reply. Ash noticed that Torrent didn't seem badly affected by the blast, although it did force the powerful pokemon back a foot or so.

Ash waited for the smoke to clear with bated breath. At such a close range, the hyper beam would either shatter the light screen or simply explode upon it. If it destroyed the light screen, Dazed would be unconscious. If it rebounded or exploded, Alakazam would be unable to teleport in time.

When the smoke cleared, a wide grin split Ash's face. Dazed was still standing, although her entire body was trembling and charred from the immense heat and force that resulted from the blast. Alakazam was unconscious, body crumpled against the ash-covered ground. Both spoons were lying a few inches away from its hands.

Unfortunately, Dazed collapsed mere moments later, unable to remain standing after the immense amount of damage she'd taken and the incredible amount of energy she'd put into surviving the hyper beam.

Nevertheless, Ash kept his smile on his face even as he returned Dazed. He held the pokeball to his face and whispered to his unconscious friend.

"Good job, Dazed." He said quietly, uncaring of the destruction around him. The poison gas was already vanishing without Dazed's power fuelling it. "You did wonderful."

He placed the pokeball back on his belt even as Gary recalled Alakazam with a stunned look on his face. Ash couldn't blame him. That Alakazam was powerful, far more so than he'd expected. No Alakazam was weak, but it was clear that Gary had trained it well. Gary must be furious that it had lost to a hypno.

"How –" Gary shouted across the clearing, which had been devastated by the furious battles that had taken place. Long gouges in the soft ground ran from where the psychic crescents had carved their way through and a large crater had been blasted into the ground from the reflected hyper beam. "Nevermind. You're better than I thought, but you won't beat my last pokemon. Go, Umbreon!"

Ash's blood froze as he saw the lithe, ebony form of Gary's Umbreon materialize. Its rings glowed and flashed in the daylight, creating a mesmerizing effect. Umbreon daintily stepped forward, its head held high as it assumed a fighting position.

For an instant he saw a massive, slavering Umbreon in its place, teeth bared and poisonous sweat dripping from its body. Ash shook his head and stared at the sleek Umbreon again, although the image of Pierce's feral beast overlaid it for another brief moment.

He took a moment to calm himself down, making sure to take deep, soothing breaths. Gary sneered at him.

"Hurry up! I don't have all day, you know."

Ash frowned and looked for Tangela. He remembered how easily the grass-type had ensnared Pierce's Umbreon. Hopefully he would be able to do the same thing in a real fight.

Just then a lance of electricity struck Umbreon's side, knocking it down making the dainty creature yelp in pain and surprise. Gary shouted at Ash with an indignant expression. "What do you think you're doing! You can't attack before the battle starts."

He ignored Gary and looked with horror towards Nidorino, who was charging towards Umbreon with his horn lowered and his barbs extended, leaking poison from both of his natural weapons. Nidorino's eyes were wild and frenzied as he slowly charged towards the dark-type. His friend would take another ten seconds or so to reach Umbreon, but that time was vital.

"Nidorino, stop!" Ash cried, running onto the field. He was too slow thanks to the mud, however, and wouldn't be able to get in Nidorino's way. The poison-type was deaf to his pleas, too overcome by rage and fear to realize what was happening.

Desperate, Ash reached towards his pokeball. Gary might count it against him as a loss, but Ash didn't care. He didn't want Umbreon to get hurt.

He paled and stumbled a bit when he realized that it wasn't there. Ash had left most of his pokeballs at home. Right now he only had Tangela's, Dazed's and Infernus'. Tangela and Dazed tended to get tired quickly from too much walking, so he wanted to be able to carry them home easily. Nidorino had needed to get some exercise to get his strength back, so Ash had left his ball with the others.

"Plume, Torrent! Stop him!" He shouted. Ash looked over at Gary, who was watching the whole spectacle with a bemused expression. "Gary, recall Umbreon!"

"What?" The boy exclaimed. "No way! You just want to score an easy win. Umbreon, knock that Nidorino out! Use psychic."

Umbreon growled softly and turned to face Nidorino, who was now mere seconds from crashing into it and goring the dark-type with his horn. Nidorino grunted softly as he was enveloped in psychic energy, but his eyes glowed a bright purple as he used his own weak abilities to dispel it. Ash was beginning to wish he hadn't had Nidorino train with Dazed to nullify weak psychic attacks.

The dark-type barely leapt out of the way as Nidorino went charging by with incredible force, not agile enough to catch Umbreon while in mid-charge.

Ash stopped when he saw Plume suddenly dive out of the sky. Torrent levitated by him at an impressive speed and stayed in front of Umbreon, more than ready to protect the dark-type from Nidorino's berserker rage.

Gary was furious now. Ash's rival was storming over to the battle with a red, splotchy face and clenched fists. "What do you think you're doing, loser? This is a one-on-one battle. Get rid of your other pokemon."

He glanced over at Gary with a scowl. "I'm trying to save your Umbreon's life. Nidorino got mauled by an Umbreon. He's dangerous right now."

The other trainer rolled his eyes. "Uh huh. Sure he did. Umbreon, just knock him out real quick. I've had enough of this loser."

Umbreon looked uncomfortable but growled an affirmative. It dashed around Torrent's huge body and leapt at Nidorino with bared fangs. Nidorino roared and sent a powerful ice beam straight into Umbreon's body. The dark-type yelped in surprise as it fell to the ground, completely vulnerable to Nidorino's next brutal charge.

Just before Nidorino would have slammed into Umbreon with his dangerous horn, Plume knocked him to the side with a weak gust. Ash nodded to her in thanks. She knew that Nidorino was still hurt and had taken care to avoid hurting him even more. Nidorino probably injured himself even more with this attack.

Nidorino grunted in pain and shakily pulled himself up before growling at Plume. He ignored her after that and tried to charge at Umbreon, who was beginning to rise from the ground. Ash dashed towards Nidorino from where he was, but just before Nidorino would have impacted the dark-type Umbreon was recalled in a scarlet flash of light.

"I've had enough of this." Gary sneered. "You might have strong pokemon, but you're weak, Ashy-boy. You can't even control a Nidorino."

Ash scowled but focused on Nidorino, who had stumbled in confusion as Umbreon vanished, his rage too strong for him to realize what had happened. Nidorino's anger began to break without the catalyst that sparked it, and the bloodlust vanished from his eyes as he looked around confusedly.

He walked over and carefully kneeled in front of Nidorino. His friend looked up at him tiredly and grunted in confusion, apparently not remembering what had happened.

"It's alright." He murmured soothingly, lightly running his hand over Nidorino's rough hide. "Just calm down."

Nidorino breathed deeply and sat down, grunting in pain as his old injuries came back with a vengeance. He leaned his face into Ash's hand and closed his small eyes as the loss of his rage left him weak and exhausted.

Gary, however, just looked at them with disgust as he released a clefable. It danced around in excitement when it realized it had been released before it looked up at Gary.

"I'm done with this. Teleport me away." Gary said with a scowl. "I'll battle you again when you can actually control your pokemon. Smell ya later, loser!"

An instant later Gary and Clefable vanished in a flash of light. Ash glared at the spot with silent fury before returning his focus to Nidorino. His friend was clearly in pain. He needed to get Nidorino's pokeball and give him a potion. Unfortunately, both of those things were at his home.

"I'll be right back." He promised Nidorino. "Plume, Torrent, Tangela, take care of him. Make sure he doesn't move."

Torrent rumbled his understanding and levitated over to Nidorino's collapsed form. Plume just shrieked out her response and took off, circling over the poison-type. Tangela, who had wandered over thanks to the excitement, made his happy gurgling noise and contentedly sat down next to Nidorino and ran his vines over the poison-type.

Ash just nodded at them thankfully before taking off, heedless of any lingering pain or soreness in his own limbs. Nidorino was more important.

XX

"He'll be fine." Professor Oak announced as he finished his examination of Nidorino. He sent a stern glance at Ash. "Now, would you care to explain to me why a large portion of my Corral has been torn to pieces? If you wanted to test out your kingdra's abilities, there are much better places to do so."

"Wait, did Gary not stop by?" Ash said in surprise.

Oak frowned, the lines on his face deepening. "No. Why would he?"

"I battled him." Ash revealed. He scratched the back of his neck and stood up out of his chair.

They were in the lab's lobby. It had been about a half hour since Gary teleported away. Ash had run to his house and returned to Nidorino in order to get him to Oak. He'd put a potion on his wounds just to be safe, but Nidorino didn't seem too beat up.

The Professor sighed sadly and rubbed his temples as he collapsed into a chair. Nidorino grunted and pulled himself up once Oak was no longer standing above him.

"No, he didn't stop by. Did he say why he was here?" Oak questioned.

Ash shook his head. He was frowning as well now, feeling a little sorry for Professor Oak. "No. He just showed up and battled me. After Nidorino tried to attack his Umbreon, Gary just got mad and teleported away."

"So that's how all this happened." Oak muttered, sending a cursory glance at Nidorino, who had plodded over to Ash's feet and collapsed to the ground. "How was he?"

"A lot better than I expected." Ash replied honestly. Saying that Gary had been weak would be a lie. He'd have won even without Torrent, but Gary had gotten a lot stronger. "Last time we battled I beat him pretty easy. This time I would have had some trouble if it weren't for Torrent."

Oak smiled. "I'm glad he's improved. This little competition you two have got going is doing wonders. From what I've made out whenever he contacts me he's been training hard. I can't wait to see you two battle in the Conference. Whoever you face will get a nasty surprise."

Ash smiled with the older man. "I can't wait either. Speaking of the Conference, I still need two badges. Sabrina's and Giovanni's."

The Professor frowned deeply at the mention of Giovanni. "Be careful in Viridian, Ash. Giovanni is dangerous. I've heard stories from my contacts in the League about Giovanni using a powerful, unknown pokemon in some of his gym battles. He has no concerns about injuring challengers' pokemon. It's a bit worrying, actually."

"I'll be careful." Ash promised. "But I want to get Sabrina's badge first. I know I'm not ready for Giovanni yet, even with Torrent."

"Good. Don't become too reliant on him or too sure in his strength." Oak warned. "Kingdra are powerful, yes, but not invulnerable. A strong trainer will be able to defeat him without too much difficulty."

He nodded his understanding. Ash knew that Oak offered good advice. He couldn't become too reliant on Torrent, no matter how powerful the dragon-type was.

"I want to challenge Sabrina again soon." Ash revealed to the Professor. He met the older man's eyes. "Could I get Alakazam to teleport me to Celadon and then Saffron?"

"Why Celadon?" Oak asked with a calculating gaze.

Ash grinned. "I've got to pick up a few things before facing Sabrina. Dazed is going to be my main battler and she's strong, but she had trouble with Gary's Alakazam. She needs to get a bit more mobility."

The Professor's eyes widened in understanding. "I see. Yes, that could work. It isn't often that one meets a hypno with that ability. Very well, when would you like to leave?"

"Tomorrow." Ash said without any hesitation. "It's been nice relaxing, but it's time to start my journey again."

"Just call me if you want Alakazam to pick you up." Oak said. "It can take time to develop the skill and power to teleport across long distances."

Ash grinned again. "I will. Thanks, Professor!"

Oak waved his thanks away. "It's no problem. Alakazam needs to get out more anyways. All she does nowadays is lay around and contemplate the universe."

The trainer laughed at that. "I guess Dazed is getting a head start. She just likes to stare into space."

They talked for a few more minutes before Ash left, a mostly fine Nidorino trailing behind him. The rest of his friends had gone to their favorite places. Dazed had gone back to the house, Torrent had sunk to the deepest part of the lake and Tangela was sleeping on the field, which had quickly dried thanks to the sun beating down on it.

Ash couldn't help the little shocks of excitement that went through him as he contemplated resuming his journey. Pallet was nice, but he wanted to seek out challenges and explore the wilderness again. He wanted to get stronger.

But he could wait another day. He needed to tell his mom he was leaving and get ready for a few days of very intense training with his friends.

Sabrina was waiting for him, after all, and he was going to beat her this time.

XX

His mother wasn't too happy about him leaving so soon, although she didn't try to stop him. She had come to terms with what he'd done over the past four months, but had relentlessly drilled into his head that if he ever came across a particularly dangerous situation he was to leave it alone.

Ash would be lying if he said that he would actually do that, but his mom never actually made him say that he would. He wouldn't be seeking it out – he never had – but if he found more of Team Rocket, it was a given that he would take them down.

But aside from all that unpleasantness, their relationship had resumed mostly unchanged. The only thing out of the ordinary Ash could detect was that his mother would sometimes stare at him with sad eyes. Ash just tried to ignore that. It made him uncomfortable.

Of course, part of her willingness to let him leave again so soon was that he'd promised to return after he defeated Sabrina. He liked being able to see and train all of his pokemon at the same time, and he certainly enjoyed spending time with his mother again.

Besides, he would have to return in order to challenge Giovanni. While he could always teleport to Viridian, Ash would prefer to walk. It gave him more of an experience and he would also get to see the familiar sights of his childhood again. The nostalgic value alone would be worth it.

Just before he left the small, clean home and went to Professor Oak's, he remembered something that he'd been meaning to ask for days now. He glanced back at his mother, who was staring at him with a forlorn look in her eyes, although it quickly returned to normal when she realized he was looking at her.

"What happened to Jonathan and Amelia after the…you know." He asked, omitting the St. Anne for both of their sakes. Ash didn't like talking about the tragedy and his mother didn't like hearing about it.

His mother was deep in thought for a few moments. "They were found on the Seafoam Islands." She finally answered. "Amelia's mother told me that they were in Fuschia right now. They were completely fine from what I heard, aside from the obvious."

Ash nodded with a slight smile on his face. He remembered that they washed up on the Seafoam Islands, so his mom hadn't given him too much extra information. It was still nice to know that his former travelling companions were safe, though.

"Thanks, mom." He said gratefully. "I'll be going now. Professor Oak is probably waiting on me."

"Good luck, sweetie!" His mother told him cheerfully, no hint of her previous concern on her face. "Make sure you cha—"

Ash was already out the door, having hurried up when his mother began to say _that_. In no time at all he was sprinting to the lab, six pokeballs on his belt and fire in his eyes.

XX

"Alakazam is ready to take you." Oak told him. The older man was sitting down behind his desk, hurriedly writing down notes. One of his aides patiently waited next to him. Ash recognized her as the woman that he'd seen on the first day of his journey. She sent him a friendly smile as she waited on Oak. "Just go outside. She'll be finished meditating soon."

"Thanks." Ash replied. Before he stepped out of Professor Oak's office he glanced back at the busy man. "By the way, if I run into Gary I'll tell him to call you."

Oak's head snapped up. He smiled warmly at Ash. "Thank you. Good luck against Sabrina."

"Thanks." Ash repeated, tipping his hat in acknowledgement. "Good luck with your research."

With that Ash left. He didn't want to keep Alakazam waiting.

By the time he got outside, Alakazam had teleported in front of the lab. She glanced up at Ash with sharp eyes when he walked outside, measuring him carefully. Ash just stood still and let her. Alakazam was the only one of Professor Oak's pokemon that he hadn't had much experience with. The psychic-type had always been too aloof to put up with him and Gary playing with her.

Alakazam motioned for him to come closer. Her spoons were trembling violently as he grew closer. She glanced at him again with a questioning look.

"I'm ready to go." He told her. Alakazam nodded and crossed her spoons. Ash blinked and they were suddenly in a bustling metropolitan, surrounded by small throngs of people and the odd crowd that walked through the streets.

Ash turned around and saw that he was right outside of the Pokemon Center, although far enough away to stay out of other trainers' way. He turned back to Alakazam, who looked exhausted from the long trip. He couldn't blame her considering that Pallet and Celadon were several hundred miles apart.

"Thank you. Are you all right?" He asked in concern. Alakazam just rolled her eyes at him before straightening up. She crossed her spoons as her eyes burned a bright blue. An instant later she disappeared, noticeably lacking the bright flash of light that had accompanied the Abra that teleported him at Chronos Island. He guessed that it was a result of Alakazam's decades of experience.

But he figured that he needed to move on. There was a lot to do and he only had a few days to do it. Ash had his schedule for Sabrina planned, and he would like to meet that goal.

So he walked into the Pokemon Center and signed in. Nurse Joy recognized him and gave him a cheery hello, which Ash did his best to return. Once he got his room he left. He didn't need to go there yet.

Ash had two important stops to make: The Celadon Department Store and the police station.

XX

"Is Officer Jenny here?" He inquired politely. The receptionist, a teenage girl wearing a police uniform, rolled her eyes.

"Kid, you're going to have to be way more specific." She replied boredly. "We've got three here. One an ordinary officer, one trains our growlithe and the other's the chief."

"I need to see the chief." Ash told her. He wanted to say hello. She'd helped him a lot during his time in Celadon so he should at least drop by.

The girl squinted at him. "Why would a kid like you need to see the chief? She has more important things to do than talk to you."

He frowned in annoyance. "Trust me, she'll want to see me. Just tell her that Ash Ketchum wants to see her."

"Fine." The girl sighed. She snapped her fingers, causing an odd, blocky pokemon to appear in midair. It made a few high-pitched whistles and looked at the receptionist with blank eyes. "Pory, go tell the Chief that an Ash Ketchum wants to see her."

The porygon whistled again and vanished. Ash looked at it oddly, causing the receptionist to chuckle a bit.

"Erika thought we needed a porygon." The receptionist said as she rolled her eyes. "Don't ask me why. Pory is just going to deliver the message to the chief."

Ash nodded his understanding even as the porygon reappeared. It whistled a few times, causing the teenager to glance at her computer screen with a frown.

"Huh. I guess she does want to see you." The receptionist muttered. She smoothed out some loose strands of hair and pointed to an elevator down the hall. "Just head to the elevator and go to the highest floor. It'll open up into the chief's office."

"Thank you." Ash replied as he walked past her. When the elevator arrived, he punched in the button that would take him to the fourth floor. In about twenty seconds he had been taken up to Jenny's office.

When it opened up, Ash carefully walked into the bare, plain office. He looked around and saw little in the way of decoration. The walls were gray and the only decorations were in the way of awards and medals that dotted the walls.

"What're you doing here?" The familiar voice of Officer Jenny asked bemusedly. Ash turned to the older woman. She was sitting behind her desk, which was covered with papers and files.

"I just wanted to say hi." Ash said easily. He walked over to Officer Jenny's desk and sat down in one of the wooden chairs. "You helped me out a lot when I was here last."

Jenny shook her head. "It wasn't a problem. You found a Rocket cell operating in my city. Anyways, I can't take off work right now. We're still dealing with the aftermath of the raid."

Ash cocked his head quizzically. It had been more than a month. "Why?"

"I've heard about some of the things you've done since leaving Celadon City, so I guess I can tell you." Jenny said with a tight smile. She looked quite stressed out. "The facility we were holding the pokemon we recovered from the lab was raided by Rockets. We don't know how they found it, but they took every single pokemon there before blowing it up somehow."

She suddenly gave him a calculating stare. A smile tugged at her lips. "Actually, quite a few of them were recovered when a few not-to-be-mentioned people attacked a Rocket base in the Sevii Islands. You wouldn't know anything about that, of course."

Ash kept his steady frown and met her eyes. She had a smirk on her face now. "How'd you know I was there? I was told that I was staying classified."

Jenny shrugged and put an innocent look on her face. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Some of the reports I looked at had a certain similarity to a few reports I put in myself a month or two ago. At least in regards to a certain someone."

He shrugged. Jenny's expression grew dour, the lines around her eyes growing deeper and harder.

"I'm not going to bother reprimanding you for going after the Rockets again, even if it's only because you had help. Very, very powerful help." She said sternly, although she softened a few moments later. "Now, I don't have much time, but I want to know how you're doing with that magmar I gave you."

A smile worked its way onto Ash's face. "He's doing great!" He exclaimed. "He's one of the strongest members of my team now."

Jenny nodded with a pleased expression, although Ash noticed that she made a few sudden notes on a piece of paper. "No discipline issues? Magmar can be dangerous."

"Nothing bad." Ash shrugged. "After the first few days I got it into his head that we should work together. Now he just has anger issues."

"Good, good." The officer said. She looked at the mounds of paper on her desk. "I've got to get back to work, but I'd like to wish you good luck. You're a good trainer and you'll go far."

Ash smiled again. "Thanks. Good luck with the city, Officer Jenny."

She nodded distractedly. "With Erika in charge, I'll need it." Ash heard her mutter as he went back into the elevator.

He couldn't help but grin at that, although it quickly vanished. Ash needed to start working on what TMs he was going to buy.

XX

The Department Store's selection was as great as ever. It was extremely busy today, but the trainer's floor was largely empty in comparison. Most trainers opted to shop at the much cheaper Pokemon Marts when they didn't need anything special. Ash didn't mind. He liked it being quieter.

Another trainer was examining the TMs as well – a tall man whose face Ash couldn't make out from the shadows cast by the man's hat – but they ignored each other. Ash pulled out the list he'd made for his pokemon. They were getting strong enough to get more powerful moves now and they needed more variety anyways. In the Conference he would need every advantage that he could think of.

For Nidorino he was getting earthquake and shadow claw. He would probably get more TMs at a later date, but for now he was just getting the most important things. Nidorino would be able to use earthquake to devastating effect once he evolved and he would need shadow claw to have an advantage over any psychics.

For Plume he was getting double team. She didn't need many moves at the moment, so he figured he would just help her out with what she was already great at. Plume could use double team to greater effect than any of his pokemon and it would help to keep electric or rock-type attacks from hitting her.

For Dazed he bought the TM that would give him an edge against Sabrina. Dazed had everything she needed but mobility. This move would solve that.

For Torrent he bought rain dance. While not the most powerful of moves, it would be useful for the powerful water-type and enable him to gain a bit of an advantage. Torrent would be practically unstoppable if he had extra water to draw on.

Infernus' TM was the most difficult to choose. Aside from clear smog and a few other support moves, Infernus only knew fire-type moves. That was something he wanted to remedy now. So he spent several minutes browsing up and down the TM section. Ash knew the TMs Infernus could learn by heart, so it wasn't too hard to eliminate the vast majority of useless machines.

He ended up buying brick break. It would give Infernus an edge against rock-types and hopefully allow Infernus to deal even more physical damage. Ash was sure that he could find a way to augment the brick break with another of Infernus' moves.

Tangela got sludge bomb. It would give the grass-type a bit of variety and the effects of the toxic sludge could be devastating upon an opponent. Sludge bomb could blind and slow down opponents, or just distract them with its foul smell.

After that, Ash headed to the counter. His other pokemon didn't really need any moves. Seeker wasn't a battler and Bruiser wouldn't be fighting until Seeker was healed. Ash doubted he could get Bruiser away from Seeker right now if he wanted to.

Once everything was paid for – he still had just a little under thirty thousand dollars left, despite the amount of expensive TMs he'd bought – Ash hurriedly left the massive building and went out into the fields nearby the city.

He had a lot of training to do.

XX

It only took a few minutes to use the TMs. He withheld Nidorino's, however. His friend wouldn't be able to resist testing out his new moves despite his injuries. While Nidorino would be ready to do some minor battling in three days or so, he just wasn't ready yet.

Ash was more than aware of Nidorino's annoyed gaze on him as he looked out at the rest of his friends. They were all standing or levitating in front of him, most interested. Infernus was curled up on a pile of ash and Dazed was polishing her pendulum with her long white mane, although her keen eyes never left him.

"I've given some of you TMs before, so you know how this works. Infernus, Tangela, I just want you to use the move you learned on whatever I tell you to."

Infernus snorted a great burst of flame as he stood up and stretched, the heat radiating from his body making the air around him waver and shimmer. Ash had to glance away from the disconcerting effect Infernus' camouflage create.

"Infernus, you're up. See that boulder over there?" He asked, pointing towards a large, roughly spherical stone that sat next to the pond they were training next to. Infernus nodded, his heat growing more intense. "Use brick break."

The fire-type lazily walked over to the boulder and cocked his head at it for a few seconds. He stamped his foot and roared before rearing his fist, which was glowing a bright white, and roughly chopping at the boulder with incredible force.

Ash blinked in surprise as Infernus' burning hand carved deep into the boulder before the attack ended. Infernus' hand seemed to be stuck, and the fire-type glanced at it in annoyance before blazing up. He could see smoke curling up from the crack even as the boulder slowly began to soften and melt from the incredibly high temperature. In just a few moments Infernus yanked his hand out of the boulder, sending drops of molten rock flying everywhere.

He nodded his thanks at Dazed when she caught the molten drops of stone and telekinetically placed it back on the boulder, which was now misshapen at the top.

"Good job, Infernus. Can't wait to see you use it in a real battle." Ash said with a grin. It looked like rock-types wouldn't be having much of an advantage over Infernus anymore. He was sure that his friend would put it to good use.

Infernus snorted flame as his eyes lit up with a malevolent gleam. He glanced at his fist again with darkly amused eyes before curling up into a ball on his pile of ash, although he kept one eye exposed in order to watch the others.

"Plume, show me what you can do." Ash said with a grin. Plume let out a piercing shriek before she catapulted herself up into the air, circling around high above them to gain a little speed before she began to use the move.

Ash saw Plume's body grow white as she began to use the move, moving rapidly in order to create multiple illusory copies of herself. They were moving so quickly that Ash had no hope of even telling which one was the real Plume.

He had to glance away after a few moments. The appearance of six different pidgeot rapidly flying and spinning in the air was extremely disconcerting.

A few moments later Plume landed in front of him, looking extremely pleased with herself. Ash grinned and gently stroked her crest, eliciting a bright chirp from the massive bird.

"Good girl." Ash said fondly. He stepped back and looked over at Tangela. The grass-type was sitting down and happily watching the proceedings, although when he noticed Ash looking at him he leapt to his feet.

Tangela gurgled happily at Ash and waited for Ash to give him a target.

Ash looked around for several moments. He didn't want to hurt the environment at all, so there was only one real target. Infernus would get to finish his job later.

"Sludge bomb on the boulder." Ash said as he crossed his arms and eyed Tangela critically. The grass-type gurgled again before turning to the rock. He suddenly spat a huge glob of toxic sludge from his mouth. The disgusting brown mixture completely covered the cooled stone, although a few drops spattered around the boulder as well.

He wrinkled his nose, but congratulated Tangela nonetheless. If it was that bad being next to it he couldn't imagine the sludge actually landing on him. Ash almost felt sorry for his future opponents.

"Good job." He said nasally, trying to only breathe through his mouth. Tangela hopped up and down excitedly before hugging Ash with his vines. Ash returned the hug happily enough, although he had difficulties with breathing. "Infernus, could you burn that? Dazed, get rid of the gas."

Infernus casually pulled his head up and spat a small, intense stream of white flame that completely engulfed the disgusting boulder. He held it for about ten seconds before returning to his nap. Dazed's eyes burned brightly as she gathered the toxic gas resulting from the sludge's burning up and sent it high into the air.

"Thanks." Ash replied, finally smelling again. The air still held a trace of the noxious sludge's scent, but it was diluted now. He got back to business and looked to Torrent. Just as he began talking, he hesitated. Ash really didn't want to cause a small storm, not yet anyways. It would inhibit Infernus' training and cause him no end off annoyance.

"Torrent, you know you can do rain dance?" Ash asked. The regal dragon-type nodded. "Alright, then. Sorry, buddy, but I can't have it raining yet."

Torrent rumbled his understanding. Ash smiled and turned to his friends. "We've got a big battle coming up. Do any of you remember Sabrina?"

Dazed's eyes flashed briefly at the memory. She almost flinched, although Ash saw her reign in the twitch before it was really noticeable. Her pendulum was trembling, barely held in place by her tight control over her emotions.

Nidorino had a grimace plastered over his pointed face. His eyes were narrowed as he recalled the humiliating defeat he had suffered at the hands of Alakazam. Ash was glad that he wouldn't be using Nidorino in this fight. It had been stupid of him to use him against Sabrina the first time, no matter how powerful Nidorino was.

Infernus, however, instantly snapped up. Flames flickered around him as his eyes blazed with anger. Ash sent a warning glare to get him to calm down. Ash would probably be using him in the battle. The fire-type could work out his fury then.

"So, I want everyone to get used to their new moves." Ash announced. His friends drew forward eagerly. They always liked pushing the destructive potential of their power to the absolute limit. "Dazed, you're going to be with me. I need to work with you the most."

Dazed nodded and shuffled over to him. She took her place by his side and absentmindedly continued polishing her pendulum. Ash glanced back at his team. "Torrent, work on dragon pulse and practice hydro pump some more. Tangela, try and get ancient power working. Infernus, just practice your Haze technique. When you're done with that, work on fire blast."

Infernus snorted flame to show he understood. Torrent and Tangela rumbled and gurgled respectively and headed off.

Ash was working on new techniques. Infernus' strategy of incinerating the opponent and beating what was left of them to a pulp worked fine most of the time, but against Sabrina it just wouldn't be enough. He would have to go with his camouflage and fire spin in order to have an edge against her powerful psychics.

Torrent had proven to be perfectly capable of battling on land. His strength with the moves he did know was simply incredible, but Ash wanted to see what he could do with dragon pulse. Dragon-type moves were exceptionally powerful and would give his friend an additional bit of variety. While he had learned hydro pump a few weeks ago, Torrent still had some difficulty. All he needed was practice.

Tangela needed to learn ancient power. He needed to get a bit of variety in his move pool, in particular variety that would let him crush any flying-types that tried to battle him. While Tangela could easily take down slower flying-types by ensnaring them in their vines and sucking out all of their energy, Ash knew that a fast opponent like Plume would be too swift for Tangela to catch.

But Dazed was the one that needed his personal attention. The others would be fine working on their own. She was the one that would be carrying them during this battle.

The others walked off. Only Plume was left, cocking her head at him oddly, confused as to why she hadn't been given a duty.

"Hey, girl." Ash said with a slight smile. Plume cooed at him gently, lightly pecking him and sending him staggering backwards. "I've got an important job for you. I want you practicing air slash, but every now and then go check on Infernus. Blow out any fires that he doesn't extinguish and keep the others on their toes."

Plume chirped happily and took off, whipping up powerful winds as she tore into the air. Ash was sure that she would enjoy practicing air slash against the others. Hopefully they would get a chance to try their moves out for real, although Plume might be too fast for them to easily hit.

Now it was only Ash, Nidorino and Dazed. Nidorino didn't seem too happy about being unable to train, but loyally followed Ash as he and Dazed walked over to a large field less than a quarter mile from their location. Ash had discovered this place when he had been stuck at Celadon for a few days after the Game Corner incident. It was ideal for training any of his friends.

But the massive, open field was absolutely perfect for training Dazed with her newest technique. It was large enough to pose a challenge yet small enough to mimic the conditions they would find inside a gym.

"Alright, Dazed, you see that tree over there?" Ash asked, pointing to a massive, gnarled tree that dominated the center of the field. It was isolated from all other trees, ancient but alive. "Teleport."

Dazed's eyes flashed briefly before she vanished with a brief flash of light. She appeared about three-quarters of the way to the tree about two seconds later. Her yellow body and white mane were easily visible against the dull green of the grasses that dominated the field.

Ash frowned. Teleportation was instantaneous if used properly and at such a short distance should be perfectly exact. He shrugged it off, however. Dazed was probably just having trouble grasping it. She was a beginner, after all.

"Dazed, come back." He called out. Dazed appeared about twenty feet away from him, her expressive eyes showing herself to be as confused as Ash was. "Are you all right?"

Dazed nodded. She shuffled over to him, a brief flicker of annoyance passing through her. Ash barely managed to catch it before she shut it down, returning to her normal state.

"Again." He ordered. Dazed nodded slowly and gazed at the tree for a mere moment before her eyes flickered and she disappeared. Ash grinned when she appeared less than ten feet away from the tree, although it still wasn't precise enough for his tastes. An instant later she appeared about six feet from Ash.

"Good job." Ash congratulated. Dazed didn't respond, but her eyes did become less narrow. "Again. We need to keep doing this until you can do it perfectly."

Dazed nodded and began the drill again. Ash was rather pleased when she pulled it off almost perfectly this time, although it was clear that the repeated teleportation was beginning to take its toll on her. He had heard that drowzee and hypno didn't have the raw power or specialization to use teleportation as effectively.

Judging from the weakness Dazed was displaying after about ten of the drills, Ash believed it. The abra line had evolved to naturally utilize teleport. Their brains and bodies were specialized for it, as were a few other psychic-type families. Drowzee and hypno were built more for physical and mental manipulation, not tearing holes through space and time.

So this would have to be a last resort strategy. Dazed was getting better and he was sure that her endurance and the ease in which she teleported would improve with time, but as of now she would have to end battles quickly.

He frowned at that. It wasn't completely unexpected, but it seemed that he would have to develop a strategy aside from teleport and shadow ball.

Ash glanced over at Dazed, who had just appeared beside him again. Her eyes were drooping and her body was beginning to tremble. He frowned and walked over to his friend. "That's enough, Dazed. You're doing great. Take a break."

Dazed stared at him thankfully, her pendulum slowly coming to a rest. The flickers of blue energy that encompassed her entire body slowly died down and she closed her eyes.

"We'll start training again in an hour." Ash told her. "Are you just going to rest here?"

The psychic-type nodded stiffly, her body clearly weakened by the strenuous exercises. She slowly sat down and closed her eyes as she began to meditate. It would help to heal her body and prepare her for another bout of training, although Ash would make sure that he was much easier on her this time. He didn't want her overexerting herself.

With that he walked away. He needed to make sure that the others' training was going along well. Nidorino slowly plodded along behind him, still annoyed if his little huffs of annoyance were anything to go by but too loyal to be obstinate.

XX

Over the next five days, his friends' training progressed nicely. Dazed was able to teleport up to ten times before the drain was too much and was still able to fight well. He'd gotten her to perfect using two shadow balls at a single time. She finally had the focus and power to utilize the advanced technique, although it drained her rapidly. Ash would try not to use it very much.

Infernus had grown bored after five days of relentless training. Ash ended up leaving the rest of his friends to train by themselves for a while on the last day while he took Infernus out for battles.

His friend hadn't improved much in respects to power or endurance, but Ash could tell that he'd mastered the Haze technique. It wasn't very difficult, but Infernus didn't like using it. He liked mauling his enemies until they were defeated, although Ash knew from personal experience that Infernus wasn't entirely above using underhanded tricks.

Despite his newfound power, Torrent still hadn't mastered dragon pulse. Ash suspected that he would have to find some method of help. Dragon-type moves were notoriously difficult to learn for those inexperienced with them and Ash knew that it would take at least another few weeks for Torrent to master the attack. As of now he could only form a small sphere of green energy before it fizzled out.

Tangela had mastered ancient power in two days. He went from barely being able to pull pebbles from the earth with his mind to ripping huge chunks of earth and stone from their static prison with ease. Ash was absolutely stunned at Tangela's astounding growth rate. The grass-type had an incredible move pool and was quite powerful when he actually battled, but Ash hadn't expected him to learn a completely new move so quickly. Tangela were hardly known for their intelligence, after all.

Plume didn't do much except heckle the others, swooping out of nowhere to practice her air slash. She'd almost mastered it. The pidgeot was capable of launching several powerful, spinning blades of air with a single flap of her wings, but they were never quite strong enough to make it to her target. Ash suspected she would have it down within a week.

But Ash was as pleased with Nidorino as he was with the others. Nidorino had reigned in his uneasiness from being unable to let out his aggression and hadn't become bad-tempered or dangerous. His friend was always shifting around and looking uncomfortable, but Ash knew that he would be fine.

He'd actually begun to let Nidorino fight in minor battles. When Infernus would have been overkill – some trainers he battled had nothing more than a rattata or spearow – Ash let Nidorino get a workout in. While the poison-type hadn't lost his abilities, he had lost quite a bit of his endurance from his mauling at the hands of Pierce's Umbreon.

Nidorino was getting better though. He was able to fight half-way decent opponents and Ash was going to give him his TMs soon. He wouldn't be strong enough to safely evolve for a while, but it wasn't too far off. Two weeks at the most.

But Ash was done with training. He knew he was ready for Sabrina now. Ash knew what he was getting into now. He'd fought her before knowing of her immense power, but never experiencing it.

Now he knew what to expect. Sabrina was unlike any opponent he'd ever faced before, but he'd defeat her. Dazed was ready, Infernus was frothing at the mouth to repair the wound his pride had sustained against the gym leader and Torrent was eager to show off his strength.

Sabrina was waiting for his challenge, and he was ready to deliver.

XX

He typed in Professor Oak's number into the video phone. Ash needed Alakazam to take him to Saffron. He'd hoped that Dazed would be capable of teleporting him to Saffron after her training was complete, but she couldn't teleport long distances. The most she could do was a couple of hundred feet before the strain would become too much for her. Dazed just didn't have the talent for teleporting.

"Hello?" Oak asked as he appeared on the screen. He wasn't looking at Ash. Instead he was tinkering with a pokeball. Ash could make out an odd purple covering on top of the ball, although Oak quickly hid the ball and looked at the screen. "Oh, Ash! How are you? Did your training go well?"

"I'm doing fine." Ash replied with a friendly grin. "I think I'm ready to take on Sabrina. Dazed can't teleport long distances, but she knows enough. Could you send over Alakazam?"

Oak nodded and smiled. "Of course, of course. Give me a moment. She's meditating."

Ash dipped his head in understanding. He knew how psychic-types liked to meditate, even if he couldn't understand it personally. His body was far too restless to sit still of rmore than a few minutes.

The Professor rose out of his chair slowly, showing the strain age had put on him. He paused to stretch out a few kinks before walking out of Ash's view.

He patiently waited for about two minutes before the Professor came back onto the screen.

"She's waiting outside of the Pokemon Center." Oak informed him as he sat down, sighing in relief as he got into the cushioned chair. "Try not to keep her waiting. She's been oddly temperamental the last few weeks."

"I won't." Ash promised. "Thanks, Professor."

Oak waved his thanks away and pulled out the pokeball again, although Ash noticed that he took care to keep the purple casing away from Ash's eyes. While he was curious about the mysterious pokeball, Ash didn't bother asking about it. The Professor would have told him if he wanted Ash to know.

With that the screen cut off. Ash stared blankly at it before pulling himself out of his seat. He left the room in a hurry. Alakazam was waiting and he really didn't want to annoy her.

Ash found himself outside of the Pokemon Center in just a minute. He'd already checked out and gathered his belongings from his room. His pack was slung tightly around his shoulder and his pokeballs were on his belt.

Alakazam waited just a few feet out of the Pokemon Center. Oddly enough, she didn't seem to be attracting attention. Ash noticed that every now and then someone would send a curious glance her way, but it seemed that most people didn't realize she was there at all.

She motioned for him to come near, pulling her spoon closer to herself. Ash complied and walked closer, apologizing to one of the pedestrians that walked into his path. The man just ignored him and went on.

"Can you take me to the Pokemon Center in Saffron?" Ash asked.

Alakazam nodded and crossed her spoons. Ash only saw her eyes flash a bright blue for a moment before they appeared in a similarly large but radically different city.

He blinked at the sudden change in lighting and scenery and looked over at Alakazam. She glared at his attention and stood back up, refusing to allow wariness to show. A moment later she crossed her spoons again and vanished, leaving nothing but thin air behind.

Ash took a moment to glance around. He would be lying if Saffron was his favorite city. It was too big and dirty and full of people that could be quite snooty at times. But none of that changed the fact that Saffron was an incredible city. While it didn't possess the sheer size that Celadon possessed, Saffron compacted more into less. What Celadon had in sprawling suburbs Saffron had in immense skyscrapers, just low enough to not anger wild pokemon.

He took a moment to appreciate the sight before a well-dressed gentleman brushed past him, sending the trainer stumbling. Ash glared at the man that had ruined his little bout of thoughtfulness, annoyed at the fact the man didn't even glance back. After he'd checked his pockets and belt to make sure nothing had been taken, Ash walked into the Pokemon Center.

It only took about five minutes to get a room. Ash didn't actually go to it, though. He was much too worked up over challenging Sabrina again to bother. Everything was passing in a blur as he focused on every possible strategy he knew that Sabrina might employ and did his best to create a counter.

After all of that was over and done with, he made his way to the gym. While it was easy to get lost in Saffron's intricate network of roads and alleys, Ash managed to remember this area well enough. He'd spent enough time in this section of the city during his last visit to recognize the areas he needed to, although Ash was still a bit fuzzy on the details.

Nevertheless, he found the elegant gym after about fifteen minutes. He'd taken a few wrong turns, but a few signs and locals had managed to get him back on the right track.

He took a moment to take in the unusual building. It was just as he remembered: A smooth, silvery surface with gentle curves and lines. While the gym was much different than the dull gray buildings around it, the contrast only made it more beautiful by highlighting its refinement and the skill that had been put into creating it. It embodied what Sabrina and the psychic-type were about: Strength through skill.

Ash took a deep breath before walking towards it, patiently waiting for some of the small crowds to pass by. A few other trainers that stuck out like a sore thumb in the city waited outside as well, some leaving the gym with despondent looks on their faces and others looking at the gym with a hopeful smile.

The trainer ignored the others as he gently slid the large, sculpted door to the side. He glanced around and saw that practically nothing had changed. Psychics drifted around, accompanied by psychic-types and others training with their order. A few paused to give him a cursory glance. They flinched almost instantaneously and hurried along their way.

He frowned at that, not liking what that said about him. But he wandered further in, feeling quite out of place amongst the cool decorations and simple designs. It just felt above him in a way, as though it belonged to an exclusive club to which he did not belong.

And then Sabrina appeared a mere foot in front of him, her cool crimson eyes gazing at him dispassionately. Her dark hair that held just the barest hint of a murky green floated upwards for a moment as the psychic energy accompanying her arrival dispersed before it collapsed back into place, not a hair out of line.

"Hello, Ash." The woman intoned in her eerily calm tone. It looked out of place next to her warm smile. Despite the chill it sent racing down Ash's spine, he found it relaxing. Such a lack of emotion kept him focused and calm. "You have returned to face me. Do you believe yourself to be of sufficient strength?"

"Yes." He replied honestly. "I've gone through a lot since I last battled you. I'm ready."

Sabrina closed her eyes. When she opened them they were glowing brightly with a deep purple energy. "Indeed. You have seen much, Ash. Things that few have ever seen. I have seen your progress. While I feared for you when the Ice obscured my vision, I should not have. You have been honed through cruel environments and great threats."

Ash felt uncomfortable as she mentioned watching him. He just didn't like knowing that someone had access to his life like that.

"Do not worry." She said in her monotone voice. "I can sense you only in times of great emotion, as I can every strong trainer. My powers are limited to this city, which I watch over and protect from forces that would do it harm. It is difficult to know the mind of another when they are in Fuschia or the Seafoam Islands."

For some reason that didn't make Ash any more comfortable.

Sabrina's smile grew, her cool eyes in direct contrast with the show of happiness. Ash somehow knew that her smile was genuine. Perhaps it was her own mind's immense power overshadowing his own, juxtaposing his thoughts and feelings with her own.

It continued to grow at that, a secret smile that he didn't know the meaning of.

"Come." She told him, eyes growing less narrow and shifting to a warm scarlet. "You remember the way, yes?"

Ash nodded and followed the powerful psychic as they walked through the silent halls of the gym. Several of the robed psychics patrolling the area flinched away from Ash as he passed by but nevertheless bowed and showed great reverence towards Sabrina.

She seemed above it all. Sabrina gave cool nods to the psychics, but no other acknowledgement.

"Why do –" He began.

"They can sense the events you have shaped and survived." Sabrina replied tonelessly. She never slowed down. "Ice has touched you, its presence born from mere contact. It hurts us, the source more than we can bear."

"Ho—"

"I am strong." She replied, once again speaking before the words could leave his lips. Sabrina paused only as she raised her hand to the massive doors that locked them out of the stadium. A faint glow suffused her hand and the immense, silvery doors smoothly opened. "The Ice will leave you soon. It is a mere memory of the source, one that you have been forgetting since you gained it. I can ignore it."

Ash nodded slowly, unsure of what she was speaking of. Articuno, obviously. But how could a mere memory of something hurt a psychic?

"I have said too much." Sabrina told him as they entered the large, dark stadium. As she stepped in, dozens of torches suddenly alit with a bright fire. The familiar battlefield was illuminated, perfectly smooth.

He admired the sight of the floor around the immense battlefield. It was made of an ambiguous stone or glass, shining but not clear. Ash wanted to look at it some more to discover just what it was, but he realized that the gym battle was more important.

When he looked up, Sabrina had already teleported to the gym leader's box. Ash had expected it this time, but he was still a little shocked at the ease in which she used her powers. Sabrina waited calmly for him, four pokeballs levitating around her. They swirled around her at a slow speed, carelessly floating through the air in a blatant violation of physics.

Ash stepped up to his own box. He glanced over at Sabrina.

"This will be a four-on-four battle." She called out. One of the pokeballs hovered in front of her, likely containing the pokemon she would use first. "The match shall end prematurely should either of us forfeit. Pick your fighter."

He blinked in surprise. A four-on-four? He'd expected a three-on-three like she'd chosen last time. Ash frowned and took one of the pokeballs off his belt.

Sabrina's voice suddenly met his ears from across the battlefield. "I have had a vision of our battle. Let us see if it will come to pass."

Ash grinned and released his pokemon. Tangela appeared on the field. He gurgled happily and hopped up and down, although Ash noticed that he looked around for a bit in search of the trainer.

"Tangela, you're in a gym battle!" Ash called out. Tangela gurgled even louder and jumped up higher. His vines unwrapped themselves and wriggled around in the air due to the grass-type's happiness. "We're battling psychics. I know you'll do great!"

Tangela made an odd mixture of noises in understanding and tensed up, waiting for Sabrina to send her pokemon onto the field. He tensed up and prepared to fight as she released a small, slender espeon. Its scarlet forehead crystal glinted brightly as it sauntered up to the middle of the field.

Ash quickly noted the power it seemed to wield. Just from being relatively near it he could feel the barely controlled strength. Espeon would be a powerful opponent.

While he hadn't planned on using Tangela in a gym battle yet, Sabrina had forced his hand. With a four-on-four battle he would have to either use Plume or Tangela. Nidorino was healing well, but he wasn't up for a battle against Sabrina. With his weakness to psychics it would be stupid to send him out anyways.

Plume couldn't fight in these enclosed quarters. They were high up, but nowhere large enough for a bird much larger than Ash was to comfortable fly around and maneuver. It would automatically put her at a disadvantage. She was invaluable everywhere else, but she just couldn't work well in a gym.

Tangela, however, would be fine. He was powerful, showed great skill at battling, and didn't have a disadvantage. While his real strength rested in physical fighting, he also had ranged attacks. When it came to battling indoors, he was by far the best choice.

"Begin." Sabrina's voice announced, echoing throughout the vast chamber.

Within moments Espeon attacked. A powerful psybeam shot out of its gem and slammed into Tangela without warning. Tangela didn't seem to notice, however. He was knocked back a bit, but the psybeam failed to actually hurt him. His shell of vines dampened any effect the psybeam might have had.

"Leaf storm, trap it with stun spore!" Ash ordered. He stayed quiet. Sabrina seemed far too honorable to read minds during a gym battle, so it wouldn't do to throw caution to the wind.

Tangela happily carried out his orders. He fired dozens of razor-sharp leaves from inside of his vines, each glowing and glinting as they flew towards Espeon with incredible force. An intensely bright layer of psychic energy stopped the worst of the attack, but quite a few leaves managed to slice through the barrier and hit Espeon.

The lapse in concentration caused the shield to collapse, leaving Tangela free to shake his spherical, vine-covered body and release the golden powder that would paralyze Espeon.

Even as the stun spore cloud descended over the battlefield, Espeon's eyes and gem flashed brightly for a moment before a bubble of psychic energy covered Espeon, the swirling purple energy keeping the stun spores from getting to the psychic-type. A moment later the psychic barrier exploded, carrying an immense amount of force behind it.

Tangela gurgled unhappily as he was thrown back several feet but leapt to his feet and awaited more orders from Ash. The cloud of stun spores had been dispersed by the wave of force, diffused throughout the battlefield.

Espeon was in the center of it all. Its eyes grew brighter and brighter as the power it wielded intensified. A ghostly, unnatural wind whipped around the lavender psychic-type, forming a shell that dragged and pulled dirt up from the battlefield at an incredible speed. In just a few seconds Espeon had completely vanished, the only thing hinting about its presence the bright, glowing eyes.

Ash frowned. Tangela was stumbling around from the force of the wind, although he wasn't being harmed. If Tangela wasn't able to keep his footing, there was no point in even trying to battle. So he'd have to solve that first.

"Ingrain!" He shouted, struggling to be heard over the howling wind. Tangela managed to catch his voice, though. Several of his vines at the bottom of his body snuck into the ground and rooted Tangela in place. Aside from a small influx of energy, it kept Tangela from being knocked around. It limited his mobility, but Ash could have him snap off the vines if needed.

Now it was time to use Tangela's vines' insusceptibility to pain to use. But first he'd have to get rid of that sandstorm. Tangela couldn't breach the shell. His vines would be shredded and battered before they could penetrate it.

"Ancient power, second." He commanded. Tangela quickly obeyed him.

Tangela could use two variations on ancient power. The first and most common was to simply form a silver energy ball in front of its body and fire it. The second was a bit rarer since not many pokemon had an affinity for it. It involved using the energy normally used to produce the ball to tear great chunks of earth from the ground and throw them at the opponent.

A small ball of energy formed in front of Tangela's body. It spun rapidly, casting a great silvery glow about the field that managed to penetrate the dense layer of sand swirling through the shifting air, before it separated into small beams that carved into the dirt around Tangela.

Four chunks of earth were quickly ripped from the battlefield, leaving Tangela surrounded by a crater. He stood on an island of earth whose only entrance and exit without entering the crater was a narrow strip of land, almost too thin for Tangela to walk on.

The chunks of earth levitated around Tangela for a brief few seconds before they were hurled into the sand shell that Espeon had erected. They were barely visible once they were thrown at Espeon aside from the narrow outlines of silver energy that surrounded them.

Espeon's sandstorm abruptly halted, the particles of dirt and sand collapsing to the ground as one. Ash heard a high-pitched cry, but he knew Espeon hadn't been knocked out by the attack. The furiously glowing eyes and tense lavender body told him that much.

"Vine whip and absorb!" He commanded quickly, hoping to take advantage of Espeon's distraction while he could. Tangela complied happily, sending eight of his extendable vines lashing towards Espeon, who was finally visible again. Two of the vines moved to strike from the sides, an attempt to attack even if Espeon destroyed the vines closest to it.

It proved to be a good strategy. Espeon quickly erected a layer of interlocking, golden pentagons that stopped the six vines attacking from the front from hitting Espeon. Several blobs of psychic energy, most blue but with intense, purple hearts, struck through brief holes in the barrier to sever the vines.

But the two vines that attacked from the sides remained unscathed. They struck into Espeon with incredible force, sending the fragile creature to the ground. Tangela quickly took advantage of Espeon's stunned state and wrapped his vines around its lavender body before yanking it towards him.

Espeon struggled for a bit, but when Tangela began to suck its energy through the vines. It slackened a bit, although a thin layer of psychic energy overlaying its fur helped to prevent as great a loss of its strength.

When Tangela brought it closer as gently as he could, seeking to not cause unnecessary harm, and released four more of his vines to speed up the process of draining its energy Espeon's eyes suddenly flashed.

Ash called out a brief warning to Tangela, but he was too late. A small barrier of psychic energy blasted out from Espeon's body, taking almost all of its remaining strength but severing Tangela's vines. Espeon's eyes suddenly glowed a harsh, vibrant red and Tangela became surrounded in a scarlet aura.

Tangela gurgled in pain as the psychic assault began, immense force battering him from all sides, but he determinedly stared at Espeon. The pale lavender psychic-type had fallen into the crater, unable to escape without exposing itself to harm for several seconds. With the degree of exhaustion it was suffering, Espeon would be unable to escape.

He grinned. "Use your ingrain to wrap it up."

The grass-type focused for a brief moment, doing his best to ignore the intense pain and pressure that pounded down on him. Even as the roots that kept him firmly stuck to the ground erupted out from his island, Espeon's split tail quivered. Espeon tried to leap out of the way as three small vines erupted from the earth Tangela stood on, but was rendered too slow by tiredness.

Tangela quickly ensnared the Espeon, two of the vines firmly pressing it to the ground. When it paused in its struggles and prepared to intensify the psychic assault on Tangela, the grass-type used the third vine to painfully jab it in its forehead gem.

Espeon gave out a high, piercing cry of pain but it was quickly cut off. Tangela had shot off eight more of his vines once Espeon's psychic had been disrupted and wrapped them around Espeon. Once he'd gotten his vines around enough surface area, Tangela sucked just enough energy from Espeon for the psychic-type to be rendered unconscious.

The grass-type stood up with a new vigor and hopped up and down in excitement. He used his vines to pull him away from his island as Espeon was returned by Sabrina.

"Good job, Tangela!" Ash congratulated, hands shaking in excitement. Tangela had performed better than he'd hoped. He hadn't been sure how Tangela would work against a powerful psychic-type like Espeon, but Tangela did great. "Keep it up!"

Tangela gurgled happily and waved some of his vines around.

Sabrina smiled and released her next pokemon. Ash looked curiously at the Mr. Mime that emerged onto the field. He'd only battled two before. Both had been effective, but very unorthodox. This would be a difficult fight.

Mr. Mime had a round, white body with a red spot in the center. Spindly, light pink arms and legs were connected to its round body by red spheres, much like the one on its chest. It had red cheeks and a pair of blue horns.

Ash gazed at it analytically, taking in as much as he could in the brief few seconds before the match resumed.

Mr. Mime didn't look like much, but Ash knew that they were powerful. It was masterful at erecting defensive barriers and attacked with power one wouldn't suspect from such an odd looking creature. He would have trouble getting close to it, but once he had gotten Tangela or his other pokemon close it would be a quick battle. Like many psychic-types, Mr. Mime were extremely fragile physically.

And then it began.

"Leaf storm." Ash ordered. Tangela quickly followed through on the command. He pulled his vines away from his face and shot dozens of sharp, glowing leaves towards Mr. Mime. The psychic-type brightened when it saw the attack and waved its odd hands, which had a faint glow of power about them.

Ash wasn't surprised when the leaves bent and fell to the ground as they slammed into an invisible barrier. Mr. Mime had powerful defenses against ranged attacks.

"Get close. Break through its defenses with vine whip when you can."

Tangela charged towards Mr. Mime as fast as he could. Unfortunately, that was still extremely slow.

Mr. Mime's permanent smile grew wider as Tangela waddled over, vines whipping towards the psychic-type. It waved its hands through the air, creating a barrier infused with enough power that Ash could actually see it. He didn't like what Mr. Mime was doing and called out a warning.

"Get ready to swing yourself away!" He called out. Tangela didn't acknowledge the order aside from extending some of his vines.

The psychic-type's smile didn't change as it awkwardly jutted out its thin arm. Tangela did his best to push himself away with his vines, but he couldn't escape as the barely visible barrier sped towards him. Ash winced as Tangela was slammed backwards at an incredible rate, carried forcefully by the barrier as it continued flying forward.

"Use ancient power!" Ash cried as Tangela was crushed against the psychic barriers that prevented attacks from escaping the arena. Tangela tiredly pulled himself up, his armor of vines not enough to prevent an injury from that attack.

Tangela determinedly formed the swirling, silver ball of energy in front of him as yet another wall of psychic energy was sent towards him. As it neared, Tangela fired the ancient power. It carved straight through the barrier, although it weakened and diffused into the air a few moments later.

The grass-type continued on with the first strategy. He pulled himself up on his vines and began to "walk" on them at an impressive speed.

But then Mr. Mime spread his hands apart, still unscathed from the battle. Two small, compact barriers formed about twenty feet away from Tangela on each side of him. Mr. Mime clapped his hands together, causing the two barriers to fly towards each other, crushing Tangela in between them.

Ash cried out in worry, but just frowned when he saw Tangela's form lying crumpled and unconscious. He returned the grass-type with narrowed eyes. That wasn't something he'd expected. It was clear that Sabrina had trained her Mr. Mime far beyond the others he'd met.

But if she and Mr. Mime were going to be brutal with his pokemon, he'd return the favor.

Infernus stamped his foot and roared in fury when he was released. Flames and lava erupted around him, leaving him nothing more than an intimidating, shimmering figure. He kept the aura of flames wreathed around his form, ready to crush all opposition.

"It took down Tangela!" Ash shouted to his friend. The flames around Infernus intensified, burning white-hot. Infernus didn't like Tangela and took malicious glee in sending sparks his way, but Tangela was part of the team. Besides, Infernus would want to prove just how much stronger he was than the grass-type.

Sabrina smiled softly and the battle began again.

Mr. Mime created another barrier and send it crashing towards Infernus at an incredible speed. It would crush him to the psychic walls and put an immense amount of strain on his body. The barrier was brighter and more intense than the ones that had defeated Tangela.

Infernus didn't even roar as it came closer. He simply reared back his fist and crushed the barrier with his burning hand. The psychic energy dispersed in a brilliant flash of blue light that lit up the entire battlefield for a brief instant.

Ash blinked, stunned. Infernus didn't even bother using brick break on the barrier. He just punched it.

A wide grin split his face. "Infernus, flamethrower! Get close and beat him."

Infernus roared and charged, rearing back his head and spitting a brilliantly intense white stream of flame towards Mr. Mime, whose perpetual smile had vanished. The psychic erected a barrier just in time for the flames to wash harmlessly over the invisible wall.

Mr. Mime's face showed its strain as it worked to keep the barrier working against the constantly growing flames that streamed around it. Infernus was growing closer and closer, an inferno of fire and smoke carried in his wake.

When the flames suddenly cleared, Mr. Mime put down the barrier, which had several cracks in it, only to see Infernus mere feet away. Ash was more than a hundred feet away, but he could see the awe and fear that flashed across Mr. Mime's normally stoic face.

The psychic-type erected another barrier, this one glowing brightly thanks to the immense amount of energy poured into it. Infernus's aura of fire crashed against the barrier even as Infernus reared his fist back and brutally chopped his hand into the aura.

For a moment nothing happened. Infernus and Mr. Mime were locked into a stalemate, both of the powerful pokemon putting all of their power into winning this confrontation.

And then the barrier shattered, a great burst of blue light flashing throughout the room as Infernus' brick break slammed into Mr. Mime and sent the spindly creature to the floor.

Ash hissed as the massive blast of energy swept throughout the battlefield, carrying dust and smoke in its wake. The psychic barriers around the arena were visible for a few brief seconds as they struggled to keep the immense amount of power within the arena's bounds.

He staggered backward as just a tiny bit of the energy managed to slip through the barriers. Every hair on his body stood on end and floating as the psychic power washed over him and his nerves screamed for just a moment.

It was over as fast as it began. Ash breathed deeply for a moment and secured his cap back into place before looking back on the battlefield.

Infernus had a shackled foot firmly planted on Mr. Mime's thin chest, flames curling down on it. The psychic blast had dispelled Infernus' fiery aura, but Infernus' entire body was still covered in flames. He picked up his foot and slammed it into Mr. Mime's chest, knocking the troublesome psychic-type out for good.

"Good job, Infernus!" Ash called out with a silly grin on his face. Infernus had once again proved his strength. "I'll probably bring you back out soon."

The fire-type roared in return and stamped his foot in victory, causing the earth around him to churn and explode upward, lava pouring from the gouges in the battlefield. Ash grinned at the display before returning his friend. If Alakazam was as powerful as before, Infernus could be a deciding factor.

As it was, he wanted to save Infernus' vast strength. Torrent might not be sufficient against Alakazam, and Ash wanted to weaken the powerful psychic as much as he could before sending Dazed out.

Both trainers sent their next pokemon out.

Torrent rumbled his arrival, glancing around the ruined battlefield with great distaste. The earth had been ravaged by Infernus' lava plumes and torn apart by Tangela's vines. It would be difficult for anything to navigate unless they could levitate or fly.

Sabrina's smile never faded. She sent out an odd creature. Ash had seen it before on TV, but it must have been a foreign pokemon since he didn't know almost everything about it. He knew that most of the gym leaders had received at least one foreign pokemon to diversify their teams and force trainers to adapt, but he really wished that they hadn't. It was difficult to battle when he didn't know something's capabilities.

The pokemon she sent out was about his height. It was primarily a light green and white, although a red spike erupted from its chest and back. Its forearms were thick, supported by thin yet extremely muscular arms. Bold, rounded hips and strong legs made up its lower body.

What made Ash jerk in surprise was when sharp blades extended out of its elbows. Its large, red eyes were fierce and determined, although they held great intelligence and respect as they surveyed Torrent.

The pokemon bowed to Torrent and waited. It was perfectly still, albeit tense and ready to strike at any moment.

"Gallade would prefer for you to strike first." Sabrina said softly, although her voice echoed throughout the gym. "It is against his code to be the aggressor."

Ash shrugged. "Torrent, blizzard. Spread it across the battlefield and then use ice storm."

Torrent rumbled as he released a huge amount of freezing air and shards of ice from his snout. The icy air quickly spread across the battlefield, creating a cold zone that would greatly hinder Gallade. A moment later he levitated backwards, far away from Gallade.

The moment Torrent acted, Gallade began a smooth, graceful sprint. It was obviously a fighting-type judging from its strong and efficient movements.

It leapt high above the ice field, although it had no chance of jumping all the way across the swirling, icy mist. Ash blinked in surprise when it suddenly vanished just a moment before it would have landed. Gallade suddenly appeared directly behind Torrent and sliced down his back with his sharp blade.

Torrent roared in surprise, although the blade failed to do real damage. He quickly levitated away and shot a powerful water gun at Gallade. The psychic-type immediately teleported away and appeared next to Torrent, although the powerful water-type was ready this time.

The moment Gallade appeared, Torrent shot a water gun straight at the psychic-type. Gallade wasn't fast enough to avoid the powerful jet of water and was flipped backwards, although it gracefully landed on its feet and teleported away a second later.

Ash frowned. Gallade was much more dangerous than he'd expected. It hadn't showed anything that would really harm something as powerful and resilient as Torrent yet, but it was highly maneuverable and could take a hit. He needed to crush it quickly.

"Ice storm!" He shouted to Torrent. "Focus it on you."

Torrent quickly did as Ash commanded. His fins waved a bit and he spun, causing an immense twister of churning air to form, carrying with it dirt torn from the ravaged floor. The twister ripped through the battlefield, dominating and whipping the entire area with harsh wind.

When it reached the ice field, which had only just begun to fade as the heat from the surrounding area diffused into it, Torrent guided the icy air into it with his own power, turning the formidable twister into a storm of wintery air and sharp chunks of ice.

Gallade appeared in front of Ash's box. It was tense and prepared to sprint, but obviously didn't have a way to attack Torrent while he was in the eye of the storm. The psychic-type sent a few testing psycho cutters, but the brutally powerful wind destroyed them the moment the psychic crescents grew near.

It vanished an instant later. Ash looked around the destroyed battlefield in an attempt to find Gallade again, but there was nothing. He frowned, but his attention was dragged to Torrent's ice storm when the huge column of twisting air suddenly narrowed and intensified.

A moment later Gallade appeared in front of Ash again, sporting several wounds and a thin layer of frost over its body. It was obviously worse for wear and wouldn't be as effective.

Ash couldn't help Torrent right now. His friend couldn't even hear him, let alone act on his commands. Remaining in the ice storm was the best possible strategy for Torrent at the moment. Gallade couldn't penetrate it without suffering great harm himself and Torrent could do whatever he wished.

The column of ice and air suddenly surged towards Gallade, kicking up air and leaving a deep gouge in the earth as it moved along. Torrent's huge form was barely visible inside, a shadow inside the light blue air.

Gallade tensed up. An aura of blue energy suffused its form and it suddenly began a long, loping sprint into the ice storm. Ash couldn't help but admire its courage. Not many fighting-types would willingly attack something like that, even if they had a strategy to deal with it.

And Gallade did have a strategy to deal with the ice storm. As it neared it, Gallade leapt upward and did a sort of spin. When it entered the storm, its body flashed a bright blue before huge amounts of energy erupted from its lithe body.

The effect was dampened enough by the ice storm to allow Ash to actually watch it. Energy exploded outward, carving through the heart of the storm. Ice shards and the air itself was carried outward by the burst of energy, dispersing the ice storm aside from a few remaining swirls of air.

Torrent was revealed. He looked surprised, but he quickly regained control of himself. Gallade was obviously exhausted, but it quickly teleported behind Torrent and elegantly spun around, slicing into Torrent's back with his glowing blade.

Unfortunately for Gallade, that didn't actually weaken Torrent. It simply made him angry. Torrent promptly spun behind and delivered a powerful hydro pump into Gallade, the incredibly powerful blast of water slamming into the psychic-type, who was too tired to teleport away in time.

Gallade was slammed into the torn ground by the powerful attack and was helpless as Torrent shot another hydro pump into its body with unstoppable power. The psychic-type struggled to get up again, but Torrent rumbled loudly and blasted him with one last hydro pump.

The powerful pokemon tried to pull itself up one last time, but collapsed.

Ash was grinning ear to ear. He wasn't sure if Infernus could have taken down Gallade that easily. Torrent had taken a few hits, but his armored hide and typing made them mostly ineffective. Infernus would have had more trouble defending against the maneuverable Gallade.

Sabrina recalled Gallade. Her smile was still there, but it grew a little as she released her last pokemon.

He sighed when he saw the old, powerful Alakazam appear. It was sitting down on air, its power keeping it levitating.

Alakazam glanced at Torrent and landed to the ground. Its spoons began to glow brightly, trembling violently as power surged through them.

"Hydro pump!" Ash called out. "Get close."

Torrent rumbled and flew towards Alakazam. As he shot a powerful hydro pump at the psychic-type, Alakazam casually erected a barrier. It grew slightly brighter as the blast of pressurized water impacted, but it held up without any noticeable strain.

Alakazam stared at Torrent for a moment as the water-type grew nearer. The psychic seemed to smile and crossed its spoons. A blue aura surrounded it and a matching aura encompassed Torrent's form.

Torrent froze, locked in place by Alakazam's psychic. Ash frowned and felt worry gnaw at his stomach, but it was completely wiped away when Torrent rumbled loudly – the ground shook – and suddenly broke Alakazam's mental control.

Alakazam look shocked for a moment as Torrent surged toward him, furious and ready to do battle with the powerful psychic-type.

But as Ash's friend neared, Alakazam casually teleported to the side. As Torrent went ramming past him, Alakazam closed its eyes. The aura around it grew brighter and shifted hue, becoming a dark, rich orange.

It sent a psybeam towards Torrent, perfectly aimed. The powerful, intense beam radiated light and sent Torrent hurtling backwards when it impacted. Torrent survived the attack, but it had done a good bit of damage on him.

Ash clenched his teeth. He'd known that Alakazam was powerful from their last bout, but he realized that Sabrina was holding back. This time he would meet Sabrina's full strength.

"Hydro pump, follow with twister and blizzard!" He shouted. Torrent quickly followed through. Alakazam teleported just inches away from hydro pump, but simply crossed its spoons as the twister neared. A column of light appeared within the swirling mass of air and exploded outwards, destroying the twister with it.

As the blizzard lanced towards Alakazam in a focused column, the psychic-type simply flashed energy through its eyes and conjured a shimmering wall of psychic energy. The blizzard struck it, a howling current of ice and air.

Alakazam was visible from Ash's angle, so he could see its surprised expression at the powerful attack. It raised both spoons and crossed them, causing the barrier to grow in power until it lit the entire room like a miniature orange sun.

Ash shielded his eyes the best he could, but the light still blinded him. He closed his eyes and opened them a few seconds later. Stars still juxtaposed with his vision, but he could at least see some of the battle.

The psychic-type had teleported away from its previous position, allowing the rest of the blizzard to go roaring past it. Torrent tried to shoot a hydro pump at it, but Alakazam simply crossed its spoons and conjured a wall of light mere inches from Torrent's snout.

Torrent's hydro pump was quickly stopped when the barrier slammed into his snout, stopping up the hydro pump and shooting Torrent backwards. The water-type was forced into the psychic barriers surrounding the arena as the light screen continued to ram him, relentlessly slamming into his friend over and over again.

When Torrent finally shattered the light screen and roared towards Alakazam, the psychic-type simply crossed its spoons again. Vibrant orange-white particles of energy coalesced into a ball in front of its mouth. When Torrent grew closer, Alakazam fired the devastating hyper beam straight into Torrent's chest.

The resulting explosion forced Ash to look away again. When he looked back, his heart sank.

Torrent lay in the middle of a shallow crater, the powerful water-type crumpled and unconscious. Smoke trickled from his body, which was covered in soot and dust.

Ash sighed and recalled Torrent. He thanked his friend for his efforts before sending out Infernus.

Infernus' eyes narrowed in fury when he saw Alakazam. Flames swirled around him, leaving him an indistinct shadow in their midst.

"Haze!" Ash commanded. Infernus complied, using fire spin to surround the entire arena in a writhing mass of flames. Alakazam and the area directly around it was the only thing left untouched, its powers preventing the flames from encroaching upon it.

Alakazam looked around with calculating eyes. Infernus was nowhere to be found, but Ash expected Alakazam to find him shortly. Psychic-types could usually detect the minds of others, or at least their emotions. The powerful magmar's emotions were probably no more subtle than he was.

And Infernus emerged from behind Alakazam with murderous eyes, the crackling, roaring flames disguising his entrance. He leapt towards Alakazam with a glowing fist, the other at his side and writhed in flames.

The psychic-type snapped towards Infernus with its spoons crossed. A barrier was quickly erected in front of it, but Infernus' fist shattered it thanks to the greatly enhanced power brick break lent him.

But Alakazam vanished in that instance, finding a new safe harbor amongst the inferno. Ash scowled in anger and annoyance. Infernus vented his fury by letting loose a brutally powerful flamethrower, glowing white hot and intensifying the flames even more.

Infernus vanished into the fire the next instant, his anger helping to display his location. Where he walked the flames surged and intensified, the only obvious indicator of his location.

Ash could see Alakazam. It had appeared in the same spot Gallade like to teleport to: right in front of Ash. The psychic was wary, its spoons crossed and its body shrouded by a light screen and barrier.

He grinned. He could take advantage of this just like he had with Gary. Ash wouldn't even have to tell Infernus what to do.

It was a tense few seconds as they waited for Infernus. His friend had calmed his anger. Flames no longer exploded wherever he walked. Alakazam stood with its back to Ash's box.

Infernus suddenly erupted from beside Alakazam, a single leap placing allowing it to be close enough to attack. His flaming fist smashed into Alakazam's side, the force of his fire punch diffused across the entirety of Alakazam's fragile body. The attack didn't really hurt Alakazam thanks to its protection, but it rattled it.

Alakazam couldn't avoid the next brick break. Infernus' fury fuelled the attack and, despite the immense power Alakazam had entombed in the light screen and barrier that hugged its form, it shattered both of them. The psychic went staggering back, no longer protected and lightly injured, but it no longer played with Infernus.

Ash almost closed his eyes as Alakazam's eyes glinted a bright orange. Cracks formed in its spoons, only to be mended mere moments later. An immense wave of power erupted from Alakazam, sweeping everything in its path away.

His jaw nearly dropped in awe as the pale energy extinguished the flames that covered the entirety of the battlefield, snuffing them out in one fell swoop. Infernus was affected as well. His fledgling psychic abilities allowed him to weather the brunt of the assault without too much trouble, but when he leapt at Alakazam with a furious glare Alakazam simply shot him with a psybeam.

Infernus dispelled the worst of the psybeam, but it still hurt him. He sailed through the air towards Alakazam, however, and slammed his fist into the psychic's chest. Ash grinned widely, although his smile vanished when Alakazam crossed its spoons.

A lance of psychic force, far more refined than Dazed's massive blasts, sliced through the air. Infernus' eyes widened in fear, knowing the power behind it would knock him unconscious.

So he did what he did best: fight. Infernus reared back his head and let loose the most powerful flamethrower Ash had ever seen. It was not particularly large or ostentatious, but narrow, refined, and burned hot enough for Ash to feel it past the barriers.

In short, it was the perfect match for Alakazam's lance.

The two attacks met midway between the two pokemon. They swirled around each other and formed a ball for just a brief instant. The next it exploded, smoke obscuring the view. A wave of concussive force erupted from the explosion, rattling Ash's teeth and sending him stumbling back even through the psychic barriers.

He gasped and pulled himself upright before gazing onto the field. As the smoke cleared, he saw Infernus' body lying unconscious. Ash groaned in despair but looked at Alakazam. It was struggling to stand as well, supported only by its psychic power.

Ash slowly grinned. He had a chance. Alakazam had shown itself to be more powerful than he could have imagined in the last few minutes. It had almost effortlessly defeated Torrent and would have defeated Infernus without taking more than a few bruises had it not been for that explosion.

So he released Dazed. She locked on to the Alakazam instantly, her pendulum quivering and flapping in an invisible wind as she saw the being that had so effortlessly defeated her before.

"Shadow ball!" He shouted.

Both Dazed and Alakazam began creating their shadow ball, the powerful psychics gazing at each other with intense, gray eyes.

Ash noticed that, despite its weakened state, Alakazam's ball grew much larger than Dazed's in a much shorter amount of time. By the time that Dazed hurled her ball, Alakazam's had grown nearly twice as large.

Alakazam clearly meant to allow its immense shadow ball to absorb Dazed's, just like their last battle. Unfortunately for it, that strategy didn't work. Dazed wasn't a mere drowzee anymore. Her evolution had given her strength.

The gargantuan shadow ball Alakazam had formed exploded, not powerful enough to absorb Dazed's attack. Alakazam vanished into an explosion of shadowy energy.

Ash held still with bated breath, mind furiously hoping that Alakazam had been taken out by its own arrogance.

When the smoke cleared, he realized that he wasn't so lucky. Alakazam was clearly weakened, but it took the attack well. It was shuddering and twitching as arcs of grey electricity jumped across its frail body, but it could fight.

Alakazam almost immediately teleported away, disappearing just as Dazed's psybeam sliced through the air. It appeared at the other end of the battlefield, next to its mistress. The psychic-type's eyes shimmered a bright, angry orange as it crossed its spoons.

Ash frowned as Alakazam was enshrouded within a psychic bubble, its aura extending and swelling. He had no idea what this technique was.

Sabrina's smile and eyes grew happy, no longer simply amused.

Alakazam rose into the air slowly, its eyes closed as it focused all of its energy into maintaining the strange technique. Dazed took a wary position, all of her power ready to be used to fight Alakazam.

Dazed's foe floated high into the air within its psychic bubble. Ash noticed that it was a little hazy around the edges, as though Alakazam was having difficulty keeping it up. That made him hope that the energy intensive technique couldn't be maintained for long.

But the next few seconds made him realize that the bubble didn't need to be maintained for long.

The bubble moved. It soared towards Dazed at an incredible speed, crossing the entirety of the immense battlefield in less than two seconds. Dazed promptly teleported away, just a second away from being slammed by Alakazam.

Ash flinched as it slammed into the psychic barrier mere inches from his face. He caught a glimpse of Alakazam serenely sitting inside of the bubble before it pulled away from the barrier – which was shining as brightly as it could under the immense strain it was placed under – and blasted towards Dazed.

Dazed was ready this time. She hurled a shadow ball at the bubble an instant before teleporting back to the area in front of Ash. Unfortunately, Alakazam destroyed the shadow ball. Ash didn't understand how, but a lance of psychic energy sliced into the shadow ball and caused it to disperse into nothingness.

He didn't even understand how this technique was possible. Ash hadn't even heard of it before, and he'd spent weeks poring over Alakazam's entry in his pokedex in an attempt to know their abilities inside out. There were some incredible things mentioned, but this? Creating a bubble of psychic energy that let Alakazam move quickly and be completely invulnerable? This was just unreal.

Sabrina honestly should have a position on the Elite Four if she created this technique. This was simply incredible.

But Alakazam's bubble was failing. It was darting as fast as it could by Dazed, sending tendrils of psychic lances that caused immense explosions wherever they hit. Even as it forced Dazed to teleport more and more to escape the sure defeat the bubble would impart on her, Alakazam's energy was failing.

Ash was sure that it would be able to keep up the technique for at least a few minutes if it were at full strength, but in its exhausted state Alakazam was fading fast. He didn't think that it could survive more than another twenty seconds of this at the rate the bubble was fading.

Of course, Dazed was weakening as well. She couldn't keep up with the amount of teleports required of her. Her reaction time was slowing by just a hair each time. Soon she wouldn't be able to escape quickly enough.

It was a battle of attrition.

Fortunately, it was a battle Dazed would win. After three more of the little cycles, Alakazam flashed towards her one last time, the last of its energy poured into the move.

Dazed's eyes burned with pain, but she managed to teleport one last time. Alakazam's bubble failed a moment before it would have slammed into Dazed and knocked her out. The psychic-type's bubble finally broke and dispersed, sending Alakazam flying towards the barriers.

It was returned before it could actually hit. Sabrina had a wide smile on her face. Ash blinked.

Then it hit him.

He'd done it. He'd defeated Sabrina, one of the most powerful and feared gym leaders in Kanto. He'd won!

Ash grinned so widely it felt as though his face would tear. But he paid his burning facial muscles no mind. He shouted congratulations to Dazed, his voice almost cracking with the sheer joy he felt.

This wasn't just a victory. This showed that he was really worthy to be a pokemon trainer. He'd done great things in his short time as a trainer, but this meant he really had skill. Ash had what it took to be in the Conference.

"You did well." A warm voice said to him. Ash snapped his focus to Sabrina. "Few trainers are capable of defeating me. You are one of them."

"Thanks!" Ash said happily, the silly grin never fading. "It was an awesome battle!"

"It was." Sabrina agreed with a dip of her head. "You have proven your strength. I am honored to present you with the Marsh Badge. You have earned it."

Ash reverently took the small, polished badge from Sabrina. He eyed the simple circle that meant so much with glee. The Marsh Badge was simple. All it was were two concentric golden circles, far less ornate than most others he'd received.

"The battle went as I foresaw." He heard. Ash glanced up at Sabrina. "Your victory was always assured."

He cocked his head. "It was?"

"Yes." Sabrina replied, her eyes drifting past him to see the universe. "You had the skill and power to defeat me. Had you chosen another strategy, perhaps you would have failed. But I believe you would have found a way. The future is never set, but it is probable."

Ash frowned. The adrenaline still coursing through his veins addled his thoughts. That was a bit too complex for him to decipher right now.

"It will come in time." Sabrina said with a smile. "Before you leave, however, I would like to request a rematch in the future. I would like to test my skills again."

"Of course!" Ash happily agreed. This battle was one of the best he'd ever had. He'd love to have a similar experience, especially if it didn't have so much riding on it. "I'll come by when I can."

Dazed shuffled next to him then. She looked exhausted, the bags under her eyes greatly intensified. Ash smiled softly at her, temporarily ignoring Sabrina.

"You did great, Dazed. I couldn't have expected better." He murmured. Dazed smiled at him with her eyes, the bags vanishing for a brief moment. "Do you want to go in your pokeball?"

The hypno sleepily nodded. Ash quickly followed her request. She deserved everything he could possibly give. All of his friends had earned it.

"I have faith that you will meet the challenges ahead." Sabrina said as she motioned for him to follow. As they made their way to the entrance of the gym, she continued speaking. "The gym leaders see great things in your future. I have confidence that you will achieve them."

Ash was silent for several moments. They had just arrived in the wide, airy atrium. Several psychics nodded reverently to Sabrina, although they continued to shy away and flinch at the sight of him.

"Thank you." He said politely. "I hope I can meet your expectations."

Sabrina just nodded at him before vanishing. Ash blinked in surprise before he opened the elegant door and left.

He'd had a long day.

But he'd achieved a lot. Sabrina was defeated. Only one more gym leader remained.

Giovanni awaited him.

**A/N: Well, there it is. I'd like to apologize for the time it took me to update. I know I said that I'd try to update Tuesday or Wednesday, but apparently I had to make up for my Spring Break. I just had too much stuff to get done to write as much as I'd like. **

**Anyways, thanks for reading! The tournament is next chapter, along with some unexpected surprises. **

**I'd also like to thank everyone who has reviewed, followed, or read my story. I've gotten tons of support, and it makes me really glad to write. Make sure to review! **


	12. Chapter 12: Training and Tournament

**Well, here's the next chapter. But I realized that I was a little off with my wording last chapter. The Indigo League tournament is called the Conference in my story. The one in this chapter is just a tournament. We've still got a few chapters until the Conference. Sorry for not being clear.**

**Additionally, I'd like to thank MafiaMello, Corpj123, psychoyoshi79, Garm88, Draton, Find Pie, ShinObi87 and Crisscrossanime for submitting their OCs. Sorry if yours didn't get picked, but I felt that these were the ones that fit in best with the tournament. I'll be referencing a few of the ones that didn't get picked, though.**

Right now, Ash was walking toward the Pokemon Center. He'd checked out and gotten his pack. It was time to go home.

Ash ended up sticking around Saffron for another three days. All of the pokemon that had participated in the fight had taken heavy injuries. Even Tangela had been unable to battle for more than a day, even after a heavy dose of potions.

Infernus and Torrent had worse injuries than Tangela, however. Torrent had been subjected to a full power hyper beam from Alakazam, which had done quite a number on him. His armor was still slightly frail on his chest, although he was able to fight again. Infernus was simply bruised all over his body, although his tough body and incredible rate of healing ensured he was ready to fight after a single day.

It only took two days for his friends to be well enough to fight again, but he had decided to stick around one last day. He needed to get Nidorino back into battling. His friend was almost back to his full strength, but he was still a little slow and lacked the endurance he'd had before being mauled.

Fortunately, Saffron had plenty of trainers to battle. Most were of average ability and were easily defeated by Nidorino's strength and experience, but a few proved tough enough to pose a real threat. That's when Ash called Nidorino back in and let out Infernus or Dazed. Infernus couldn't go more than a day without a fight and Dazed was one of his only pokemon that hadn't sustained a serious injury from Sabrina.

Nidorino just needed a few more days of training before Ash could use him seriously again. Ash hoped that he'd be ready in time to face Giovanni. He would like nothing more than to defeat the last and greatest gym leader of Kanto with his starter by his side.

A grin split his face as he thought of Giovanni. He knew he wasn't quite ready for the Earth Gym, but he was getting close. Just a week or two of training and he knew he'd be ready to at least attempt to battle Giovanni. Defeating Sabrina had given him more confidence in his abilities, at least in regards to the powerful gym leaders.

But right now he needed to call Professor Oak and get him to send Alakazam over. Dazed had improved a bit on her endurance in regards to teleportation, but she would never be able to teleport him long distances. It just wasn't what the drowzee line was built for.

Normally he would have just called Professor Oak on his PokeNav, but thousands of magnemite and magneton had been passing through the city and suburbs in huge swarms. The electromagnetic waves they produced were disrupting almost all of the signals to and from Saffron. Only places with specially prepared facilities such as Pokemon Centers could actually get calls out.

Ash was a little annoyed at his bad luck, but knew he shouldn't have been surprised. Magnemite and magneton swarms passed through cities like Saffron every month or so. They were attracted to the vast amounts of electricity being produced, although they usually passed by for easier sources such as power plants specifically set up to feed them.

Of course, Saffron had it easier than most cities. Sabrina and her psychics were able to scramble their minds and give them a compulsion to leave. It generally worked well from what he heard.

But he'd heard that something was off about this most recent swarm of the creatures. Normally they drifted aimlessly, seeking any possible source of electricity. They tended to be slow and lazy since they normally didn't have much power to feed on. Right now they were energized, ceaselessly following some source that humans couldn't detect. Ash had heard that electabuzz and elekid herds were following it as well.

It was worrying, but they weren't hurting anybody. The League was keeping an eye on it from what he'd heard, but didn't disrupt anything. They didn't want to accidentally hurt pokemon, after all.

He'd given thought to catching one of the electric-types as they drifted through Saffron, but it was much too risky. They were generally nonthreatening and extremely passive, friendly, even, but if he threatened one of their swarm they would attack. It wouldn't end well for him. The same with electabuzz, although they had much worse tempers. They were much like magmar in that way.

He stepped into the video phone room, passing several other trainers. Most had pleased smiles on their faces, as though they had just spoken to their loved ones after years away from them.

Such a statement probably wasn't so far from the truth. A year would be an exaggeration, but it wasn't uncommon for trainers to stay in the wild for weeks without contact with the outside world. They might run into small towns and villages along the way, but those out of the way places usually didn't have video phones.

Ash glanced around the massive room. Although the Saffron Pokemon Center was exceptionally large, it was still filled to the brim with trainers. More and more were beginning to stop and train in and around cities now that they'd gotten their badges and didn't have to travel all the time, so the relatively empty ones he'd seen throughout his earlier journey were slowly filling up.

Even though there were more than twenty video phones available, Ash still had to wait for someone to get off of theirs. He tapped his foot impatiently as the call dragged on and on. Another trainer, a teenager much taller than him, tried to skip in front of him, but a glare from Ash and a tap to Nidorino, who was sitting beside his feet, made the trainer walk away with a disgruntled look on his face.

He smiled slightly at that. Even injured and weakened, Nidorino was still so obviously tough that not that many trainers would want to mess with him. Not many trainers battled as much as Ash did, and Nidorino had taken part in a good chunk of those fights. Plus the nasty, thick scars left by Umbreon's sharp fangs showed just how dangerous Nidorino could be.

Ash idly patted his friend on the head, eliciting a happy grunt from Nidorino. He started talking to his friend, not really caring what the other trainers thought. Most were talking to their own pokemon anyways, although three or four of the dozens of trainers waiting to get on the video phone were eying them with distaste.

"So, how do you think Seeker's doing?" He asked, glancing down at his friend. Nidorino grunted and looked up at him. "I'm hoping she's healed up well. I'd like to take her with us to Mt. Moon."

Nidorino nodded and grunted excitedly at the mention of Mt. Moon. His ears perked up and he butted his head into Ash's leg. Ash winced and rubbed the lightly aching spot but grinned down at his friend.

"Yeah, yeah. We'll go there once we've beaten Giovanni. I think I'm going to get another circuit of the gyms done before the Conference. I'll need the practice."

The poison-type grunted his understanding. Ash kept on talking for a few minutes, heedless of anyone around him. He just wanted to pass the time until he could finally talk to Professor Oak.

Ash was suddenly torn away from his one-sided conversation with Nidorino.

"I'm done. You can stop talking to your rodent now." A voice sneered. Ash glanced up in surprise and scowled as a boy about his age with long purple hair and cold, serious black eyes pushed past him. He glared at the boy's back for a few moments before continuing up to the video phone. The trainer had a surprisingly adult voice for one so young.

Nidorino growled menacingly at the boy as he walked away, but loyally followed Ash a few moments later. Ash quickly typed in Professor Oak's number. The screen flickered to life and showed Oak's work station just a few moments later.

"Hey, Professor Oak!" Ash greeted with a grin. Oak, who was tinkering with that same purple pokeball, quickly put it out of Ash's sight and snapped his attention to the trainer. He smiled at Ash and returned his greeting.

"How did your battle go, Ash?" Professor Oak inquired, curiosity gleaming in his aged black eyes. "I had expected to hear from you the same day you left Celadon."

Ash grinned widely enough to cause a little pain in his cheeks. "I won!" He exclaimed. Ash sobered up a moment later, although he still had a huge smile on his face. "I was going to call you and my mother that day, but a swarm of magnemite has been passing by."

Professor Oak hummed in understanding. "Ah, that makes sense. I must confess that I haven't been paying attention to national events at the moment. I've been too wrapped up in my research."

"What're you researching?"

"Oh, this and that." Oak said vaguely, waving his hand through the air to dismiss the question. "Nothing that would really interest you. It's much more interesting to old men who haven't been outside of a musty old lab for a decade or so."

Ash couldn't hold back his smile at that. "And who would that be? Definitely not you, Professor."

A smile tugged at Oak's lips. "I suppose not. I'm not quite that old. Not yet, anyways." He leaned forward on his desk. "You wouldn't have heard of any of these men. They're just researchers for Silph. They're quite high up on the ladder, but aren't exactly in the public eye."

"Oh." Ash replied with a nod. He shook his head. "By the way, could you have Alakazam teleport to the First Pokemon Center of Saffron City?"

"Of course." Oak said. He fiddled around with a remote sitting on his desk and pressed a large, red button. At Ash's questioning look he explained. "The button activates an alarm in Alakazam's basement. It saves me quite a bit of time."

Ash nodded his understanding. He saw Alakazam teleport directly behind Professor Oak and tap him on the shoulder with one of her dull claws.

"Ah, there you are." Oak said pleasantly. "Could you teleport to the First Pokemon Center at Saffron? Ash needs you to bring him back to Pallet."

Alakazam sighed and rolled her eyes. Her small moustache twitched as she crossed her spoons and vanished. Oak smiled fondly after her for a few moments before turning back to Ash.

"Well, you should get leave now. Alakazam is waiting."

"Thanks, Professor." Ash grinned. A second later he cut off the monitor. He glanced at it for another few moments before shaking his head and walking away.

"You can go." He said to the next trainer in line. The tall, broad-shouldered man nodded and thanked him gruffly before stepping past him.

After that, Ash slipped through the crowd, although he paused to return Nidorino first. The crowd had grown much larger since he had first entered the room, which was making his friend antsy. Nidorino didn't like crowds. It was a natural instinct for Nidorino. They were the protectors of their herds. Being around a lot of unfamiliar faces could confuse them and make them a bit more aggressive than usual.

Ash made good time. The crowd wasn't too dense for him to slip through small gaps, so he didn't have much trouble. It still took a minute or so, but it was better than if he'd been bigger.

Still, he'd taken much too long for Alakazam. The psychic-type was standing out on the side of the street when he left the warm, comfortable atmosphere of the Pokemon Center. It was raining heavily, the dark clouds that had been hovering over the city casting a gloomy shadow on Saffron. The shadows made the ordinarily dull and colorless Saffron City even more lifeless.

Aside from the constant lances of lightning that lit the entire city for brief instants, there was little light. It was possible to see, but it was as dark as twilight.

In other words, Ash wouldn't mind leaving the city. It wasn't going to be a happy place for the next week or so.

"I'm ready." He said to Alakazam. Ash noticed people around him giving him odd looks, although a few seemed to see what he was talking to. Alakazam probably erased the image of her from most peoples' minds. Her kind attracted quite a bit of attention, after all, and it was best to stay incognito to keep Rockets away.

Not that any amount of Rockets would have an effect on Alakazam. She was exceptionally powerful, even amongst her kind, at least if the old videos Ash had seen of Professor Oak in his battling days were any indication. Alakazam was probably even stronger than Sabrina's, as crazy a thought as it was.

She nodded and crossed her spoons. Ash briefly blinked and found himself standing outside of Professor Oak's lab.

The weather was perfect. It was bright and sunny, but not too hot. There was a nice breeze and he could see dozens of pokemon playing and relaxing in the field.

Ash grinned. This was much better than Saffron. It was an incredible city, but it was just so lifeless. He much preferred the sun and wide open spaces than the compact, crowded city.

"Thanks." He said to Alakazam. She just rolled her sharp eyes before crossing her spoons again. A moment later she vanished. Ash shrugged and walked up to the lab. He knocked and waited quietly, although he took the time to release his friends. They deserved some time in the open.

"Hey, everybody." He greeted happily. Most of them called back or, in Infernus' case, nodded and crossed their arms. Tangela pulled him down for a brief hug, which Ash gladly returned. "We're at Pallet for a while. Just go wherever you want. I'll call you when I need you back."

Tangela tapped him on the forehead affectionately with one of his vines before waddling off. Ash assumed that he was going to the fields. The grass-type was a favorite of the younger pokemon. He always took the time to play with them and didn't mind their rough-housing.

Plume pecked him before shrieking her goodbye. She took off, kicking up a cloud of dust and tearing some of the grass from the ground. Ash coughed and wiped his face but watched her go with a smile. He didn't know what she did. The flying-type often flew to the forest, close enough to come if Ash needed her but far enough away for privacy.

Dazed didn't go anywhere for a few moments. She stared at Ash with her inscrutable eyes for a few moments and nodded to him, her eyes lighting up in a smile. Ash smiled back, although he wasn't sure what that was about. He didn't have time to inquire, however. A few moments after that Dazed vanished in a flicker of light, appearing by Tangela an instant later.

He would be lying if he said that he wasn't surprised by their friendship. Dazed was generally aloof from the rest of the team, although she spent some time with Nidorino. She was almost always around Tangela, however. Ash couldn't figure it out.

Torrent rumbled to him before floating away elegantly, his fins gently waving in the air. He was headed in the direction of the lake. The water-type had a liking for the water. It was where he was most powerful and he often sank to the bottom of the lake for hours on end.

Infernus snorted a bit of smoke at him and glanced around the area. His eyes lit up with his inner fire when he saw Arcanine lazing around with the growlithe puppies, however, and he stalked over to the great canine. Ash grinned. He couldn't wait to watch their fight. The two powerful fire-types had been testing each other in contests and feats of strength the entire time he was in Pallet last time. Infernus seemed determined to grow stronger than Arcanine, who, aside from Blaine's Magmar, was the only truly powerful fire-type he'd met.

Nidorino, of course, stayed by Ash's side. Ash idly scratched behind his friends ears, aware that Nidorino was staring at the nidoran herd. He knew that his friend felt compelled to join his own kind, but appreciated that Nidorino stayed with him. He was the best friend Ash had.

He stayed there for a bit longer before the door opened. Ash only had a moment to grin before he was wrapped up in a tight, crushing hug.

"Oh, Ash, I'm so glad to see you!" His mother gushed, tightening her grip on him. Ash coughed as the vice grip grew even tighter, although he made sure to hug his mother back. A few second later she let him go and smiled widely at him. "I heard about your match with Sabrina. I'm so proud of you!"

"Thanks, Mom." He said, still grinning happily. While things had gotten much better between he and his mom before he left for Celadon, it was still a bit tense. It looked like his mother had finally sorted everything out. That made his grin grow even wider. He'd been afraid that things would take weeks to return to normal. "How was Pallet while I was gone?"

His mother pulled him into the large home before she answered him. He listened with a small smile at his face as she chattered on. It was clear that she'd missed him. Ash could say the same about her.

"Oh, nothing too exciting." She began as they entered the house. "Professor Oak was busy most days. He told me that he's been working on something really important, but it's confidential."

Ash nodded. "Silph?"

She nodded. "That's it! Anyways, he's been busy, so I've been working at the restaurant a lot. There hasn't been much business. A lot of people have been here with Professor Oak this week. I guess he needs more help than usual. I'm actually catching up with him right now."

He nodded again. If Professor Oak was busy, then someone else would have to feed the pokemon and keep the lab running. It must be something extremely important if he was willing to bring most of his part-time assistants in.

But now he needed to ask about what was really important.

"How's Seeker doing?"

"She's doing wonderful!" His mother gushed. They'd just entered the kitchen. Professor Oak was sitting down at one of the tables with a newspaper. A cup of cold water sat next to his empty plate. "Seeker's been on a potion regimen for the last few days, but she got off of it yesterday." His mother said brightly.

She took a seat and motioned for Ash to sit down. He did and nodded a hello to Professor Oak, who returned it before returning to his newspaper. Professor Oak looked extremely stressed out and tired. Ash had detected hints of it during their call, but in person he could see the deep bags under his red eyes.

Ash turned back to his mom. Nidorino had curled up next to his leg. His mom hadn't seen him yet, so Nidorino was spared from being hugged and cuddled like he was a nidoran. The poison-type's side was leaning on Ash's foot, providing a comfortable pressure.

"And Bruiser?" He asked. Ash felt a little guilty about the fighting-type. He'd done a bad job of using him after sending him to the Corral. While he didn't want to split him up from Seeker, he wanted to use his friend some more. Bruiser had done well in the time they'd had together, even if he had a ways to go before he equaled the rest of the team.

"He's been carrying Seeker everywhere and stayed with her the entire time!" His mother crooned. Ash noticed that she was acting unusually perky, even for her. He wondered if she'd had coffee. "It's so adorable!"

Ash nodded, a small, genuine smile slipping onto his face. He could see that image very easily. Bruiser had appointed himself Seeker's protector, after all. It wasn't surprising that his devotion wouldn't have wavered. They were as close as any other members of his team.

"I'm quite impressed with you, you know." Oak said, speaking up for the first time. He'd put the newspaper down and had his glass of water in hand. "Very few trainers can defeat Sabrina. For you to have grown this strong in just a few months…it's amazing."

"Thanks. I'm actually amazed myself." Ash replied, leaning forward onto the table. Nidorino grunted softly in protest and rolled over onto his side, happily laying out on the cool tile floor. A thought entered his mind. "How are the others from Pallet Town doing?"

Oak's face lit up, some of the stress vanishing. "Gary just got the last necessary badge for the Conference! He's just got the Rainbow badge. Now he's going to challenge Koga."

Ash nodded, a frown on his face. He was surprised that Gary wasn't really challenging himself. Gary was more than strong enough to take on Koga. Alakazam was quite powerful, if not the monster that Sabrina's was. It just didn't make sense to him.

"I haven't had much contact with Jonathan or Amelia." Oak admitted, looking a little embarrassed. He scratched the back of his neck and averted his eyes for a moment. It was odd on the distinguished Professor. "The last time they called in was after they beat Erika."

He sighed dejectedly. Ash had hoped that Oak would have more concrete information on his former travelling partners. Now that he had been on his own he probably wouldn't want to travel with them again – he just felt closer to his pokemon this way, and even if he was friends with them he'd felt like a third wheel in their duo – but he still wanted to know how they were doing.

"They haven't called me, but I can tell you what pokemon they have." Oak told him. Ash perked up at that. He wanted to battle them whenever he saw them, and knowing what pokemon they had would do a good job of preparing him for that. It would be nice to know how far they'd come as well.

"Let's see…" Oak began, staring thoughtfully into space. His eyes suddenly brightened and he snapped his fingers. "Jonathan has a charmeleon, rhyhorn, kingler, magnemite, and gyarados. Amelia has an ivysaur, raticate, tentacruel, dewgong, and kangaskhan."

Ash nodded. It looked like they'd progressed quite a bit, although he had no way of knowing how strong they actually were. He'd almost forgotten about Jonathan's gyarados. That was probably the one he'd seen escaping the wreckage of the ship. He was actually looking forward to seeing it in action. Gyarados were powerful pokemon, as Captain Stewart's gyarados had proved more than once, and he wanted to see how Jonathan had raised it.

Of course, he knew that Torrent would have fun that battle. Not many water-types could even hope to challenge a kingdra, but gyarados were amongst that tiny number. It would be amazing, especially if Jonathan was capable of controlling the great sea serpent.

His mother finally spoke up. "Ash, where are you heading to after this? I know you aren't going to stay here long."

Ash smiled guiltily at her. "I'm going to head to Viridian to take on Giovanni eventually. But I know I'm not ready yet. I need to train some more."

His mom flinched and turned pale a bit at the mention of the Viridian gym. Ash looked at her oddly but didn't press the issue. If his mom wanted to tell him something, she would. That meant it was either very private or something that she wanted to forget.

Still, for her to react so badly at the mention of Giovanni was odd. It made Ash curious. Hopefully she would tell him eventually.

"I've told you before that Giovanni will be a brutal battle." Professor Oak interjected hastily. "I'm glad to see you understand that. Gary's wanted to battle him for a while now." The older man sighed, rubbing his temples. "He doesn't seem to understand just how dangerous Giovanni is. The man is far more skilled than all gym leaders but Sabrina and Blaine."

Ash rolled his eyes. Gary was smart. He should have more common sense than to even think about challenging Giovanni yet.

"How much longer do you think I should train before taking him on?" Ash questioned. Professor Oak knew enough about his abilities and his team to make an accurate guess. He seemed to know Giovanni pretty well, as well as his team.

"That's a good question." Oak muttered, scratching his chin. "Torrent will be highly effective against most of Giovanni's pokemon, but he will eventually sacrifice one to defeat it. Kingdra can levitate to avoid ground-type moves and have a type advantage. He uses primarily rock and ground-types. Still, the rest of your pokemon won't be particularly effective."

Ash paid close attention to the Professor. Although he didn't know about many of his battling achievements since the Professor was tight-lipped about them, he knew that Oak had been incredibly powerful back when he was a trainer.

The Arcanine that could easily keep hundreds of pokemon in check while still having time to play and the Alakazam that could teleport half-way across the country without too much trouble was testament to that. And he wouldn't even mention the Dragonite, who rarely made an appearance at the Corral. Ash didn't even know where it lived.

"Pidgeot wouldn't be able to do much damage." Oak continued. "She's too weak offensively and defensively. She just couldn't do the damage required. Nidorino will be back to snuff soon, but I doubt he'll be capable of taking on Giovanni's Nidoking or Nidoqueen."

Nidorino growled from beneath the table, clearly offended. The vibrations were powerful enough to make Ash's leg tingle a bit. Ash just rolled his eyes and leaned down to scratch behind Nidorino's leathery ears, careful to avoid the poisonous spines. His friend calmed down, appeased by the action.

His mother's eyes lit up and she glanced underneath the table. Ash grinned when she leaned down and began to pat Nidorino carefully, knowing enough about the breed to avoid the locations of the spines. Judging from Nidorino's sudden relaxation, he didn't mind the attention too much.

Oak had a small smile on his face before he continued. "Anyways, Magmar is one of your most powerful pokemon, but he isn't cut out for battling Giovanni. He'd do some damage thanks to his rather aggressive temperament, but not enough. Hypno would do well against both of the Nidos, but Giovanni knows how to deal with type disadvantages. He isn't averse to using pokemon outside of his favored types."

Ash nodded slowly, making sure to remember every word. He wanted to know what to expect, even if it wasn't particularly descriptive.

"Tangela, however, would be your best bet. They are quite rare amongst trainers and can be quite effective against Giovanni. But I'd suggest you train Bruiser." Oak said with a serious expression. "He will be effective if Giovanni pulls out one of his most powerful pokemon, as well as the golem and rhydon he commonly uses. You also need to train Bruiser. Machoke need an outlet for their strength, and he's not finding it here."

He averted his eyes from the Professor's stern expression. Ash was aware that he'd neglected Bruiser. It didn't make him particularly happy, after all. He knew that he needed to do something about it.

"I'll make sure to start training him again." Ash replied awkwardly. "I've just been distracted lately."

"It's fine." Oak told him, dropping some of his sternness. "I understand that you've been through a lot lately. Just do your best to take care of him in the future. Machoke can be dangerous if left alone for too long."

Ash nodded seriously. Machoke could be aggressive and antsy if they felt bored or lax. With the immense power they packed even with their power save belts on, they could be devastating.

"Enough of this talk." His mother spoke up. She was smiling, although it was a bit strained. "Ash, you must be starving. I'll get you something to eat."

He started to say something, but when his mother instantly started fixing him some food, he just quieted down. Ash wasn't really hungry since he'd had a huge breakfast at the Pokemon Center, but shrugged that concern away. It wasn't like he was going to reject food.

Besides, he would be training hard for the next few days. He should probably get as much food in as he could.

XX

"Hey, guys!" Ash exclaimed as he walked into the guest room. His mom had converted it into a room for Bruiser and Seeker. Seeker was hanging up on a high beam, hissing and chattering to Bruiser. The hulking fighting-type was doing push-ups on a bare section of the floor, his thick, reptilian skin taut and unyielding as he performed the exercise.

The effects of his words were immediate. Seeker chattered excitedly and fell from her beam. Ash worried for a brief moment before she caught herself and fluttered over to him. He smiled softly and scratched her behind her sensitive ears, laughing as she leaned into his touch. Her small hooks held onto his shoulder as she nuzzled at his cheek.

"I missed you too, Seeker." He laughed. Ash kept on scratching her ears as he looked over at Bruiser. The powerful reptilian fighter had easily pulled himself up from his exercises, showing no visible strain from the workout. Bruiser smiled and walked over to him. "You too, Bruiser. How's it going?"

Bruiser grunted, a deep noise that Ash knew to be his sign of approval, and beat his leathery chest with a powerful fist. Ash knew that was what his friend did when he was happy.

"Good, good. How're you healing up?" He asked concernedly, twisting his head as far as he could to see Seeker. She nudged him with her head and squeaked excitedly, pulling up to expose her front.

Ash examined the spot carefully. The spot that had been a wide, gaping wound when Golduck attacked her had completely healed over. It was raised just a bit more than the rest of her skin. At the very edge of the wide, hairless scar was the beginning of light, leathery skin. After that her soft blue fur started up again, a little sparse around the massive scar, but still there.

Seeker pulled herself back down. She steadied herself on Ash's shoulder and squeaked again. Bruiser crossed his arms and watched the two with his version of a smile, although his beady eyes were mostly focused on Seeker.

"Thank you so much." He whispered, gently stroking the top of her head. Seeker chattered happily and squeaked again. "I know I never got to really thank you. You were barely conscious last time."

The zubat squeaked happily and leaned into his touch. She seemed quite happy, causing Ash to smile. "Anyways, I just wanted to thank you. You were so brave."

Seeker buried her head underneath one of her purple wings, drawing a smile from Ash. "You were. I've never seen anything braver."

He laughed quietly as Seeker did her best to hide from his praise. Ash shook his head in amusement and looked over to Bruiser, his smile turning upside down. "Bruiser, I'd just like to thank you for helping her so much. You're a great friend to her, and I couldn't have asked for anyone better to protect her."

Bruiser puffed out his chest and beat it again, obviously proud at the compliment.

Ash lowered his head a bit and stole a glance at Seeker. She was still hiding from her in embarrassment, although lightly rubbing circles on her soft blue back was getting her to squeak in happiness.

"But I'd also like to apologize to you." He said seriously, meeting Bruiser's eyes. The fighting-type started at that, looking at Ash with evident surprise. "I've been a bad trainer to you. I broke my promise to bring you back as soon as I could. I sent you here just so I could try to train _Golduck_." Ash spat, fury bubbling to the surface as he saw Seeker's tiny form shiver and flinch at the name.

He took a few breaths, noting that Bruiser did the same. When he was calm enough, Ash continued. "I've been a bad trainer to you. But I promise I'll do better from here on out. You and Seeker are just as important as the rest of my team."

Ash glanced away, worried that he might have reawakened any dormant anger Bruiser felt. He wouldn't blame the fighting-type.

So he felt the urge to flinch when a strong, powerful hand clenched his shoulder, although not tightly enough to bruise. It was still uncomfortable, but a concerned grunt brought his eyes back to Bruiser. The machoke was looking at him with eyes glimmering with a strange emotion.

Now that Ash was looking at him, Bruiser let go of his shoulder. He stood up tall, showing off his impressive height, and pointed at Ash. A moment later he slammed his fist into his chest, producing an audible thud. Bruiser stared at Ash intently before bowing his head.

Ash smiled unsteadily and repeated the action, although his was much less impressive. Eleven-year-old muscles were much weaker than Bruiser's iron-hard muscles, after all.

Bruiser's bowed head snapped up, eyes looking at Ash and his bowed head in confusion. A wide grin split his reptilian face and he carefully clenched Ash's shoulder in respect. It was a very human gesture.

He smiled back at his friend and did the same. Seeker climbed off of his shoulder and onto his back, clicking and using her echolocation in an attempt to understand what was going on. She seemed to know enough to avoid interfering, and was as quiet as could be.

When Bruiser let go, Ash looked at his friend. There wasn't any bitterness or annoyance in his small, beady eyes. There was nothing but friendliness and that same glimmer from before. Ash couldn't put a hand on it.

But he did know one thing. He was forgiven. And that meant that it was time to start making his absence up to his friend.

"So, Bruiser are you ready to start training? I want to use you in the next gym." Ash said with a smile. Bruiser grinned widely, his eyes shining with happiness. It was then that Ash realized that he'd never used the fighting-type in a gym battle. He felt a brief flash of guilt before he pushed it away.

It was time to get down to business.

XX

"Come on, I know you can do it!" Ash said encouragingly. His pokedex was in hand, set to the entry on dragon pulse. It described the best way to teach the attack quite well, and gave him several visual examples from different pokemon as a sort of guide.

Torrent rumbled angrily, a little frustrated. He nodded though and focused again.

Ash knew that the lack of progress with dragon pulse was annoying Torrent to no end. His friend had never had any trouble learning moves before. He had always been the one who understood them the quickest, in fact.

But Ash knew what really made Torrent angry was that he had evolved now. Even with all of the power at his disposal, Torrent was feeling as though he wasn't strong enough.

He knew that Torrent could do it, though. His friend was making excellent progress. The move was difficult to learn, as with all dragon-type moves, but Torrent almost had it down. It was only a matter of time. Probably within the next few hours, if things kept progressing. Torrent could make the powerful energy ball and even launch it, but before it could reach its target it would disappear into the air.

Torrent reared his elegant head back and poured his power into the formation of the ball. Light green energy formed in small particles in front of his snout and quickly coalesced into a bright ball of swirling energy. It was almost jade in its coloration, although a bright white core shined at the center.

When it had grown to be almost half as large as Torrent himself, the dragon-type turned his head towards the absolutely massive cliff they'd been using as target practice. He closed his eyes and used his power to shoot the massive sphere of energy straight into the cliff side.

At least that's what was supposed to happen. Instead, the energy sphere exploded half-way there, releasing a huge amount of energy into the area in the form of a massive explosion. Ash flinched, but Torrent quickly flew in front of him and blocked most of the explosion. Ash was still sent stumbling back a few steps, but Nidorino quickly steadied him.

"Thanks, Torrent." Ash said with a strained grin. Torrent rumbled at him and puffed out his powerful chest, clearly pleased with himself. "Say, you want to take a break for a minute?"

Torrent happily accepted the break with a grateful nod. He levitated next to Ash and watched curiously as Ash sat down and glanced at his pokedex screen.

He just couldn't get why Torrent wasn't able to master the move. This accident proved that he was close, since it actually exploded with the full force of the attack instead of fizzling out, but Torrent still had a ways to go. Ash was doing everything he could to help, but dragon pulse was living up to its reputation in regards to difficulty.

Maybe it was because he'd never come across a pokemon that knew dragon pulse. For every other move he'd taught his friends, he and his pokemon had personal experience with. Dragon pulse was an unknown aside from the pokedex entries.

Ash sighed and took a sip of his water bottle. It was quite hot today. He'd known it was the end of summer, but the temperatures had been mild so far. Today seemed to be the weather's retribution for its lenience.

They were several miles away from Pallet, deep in one of the massive forests that entombed the small town. There were a lot of boulders, trees, and huge, sheer cliffs for his friends to test their moves on and there weren't many pokemon about.

Pallet and the surrounding areas were home to the weakest pokemon in Kanto for a reason. Its mild climate and vast natural resources, mostly untouched by humans, made it a relatively safe place for young pokemon to grow up and learn. They were mostly from common, migratory pokemon like flying-types or raticate, but a few rarer breeds like pikachu also bred here.

During spring and mating season, it was easy to find an egg or two almost anywhere one looked, although angry parents were usually close behind. He and Gary had learned that lesson well when they'd tried to take an egg they found home. Two large, furious raticate managed to run them off before they could make off with their prize, though.

He smiled at the memories. It was almost a shame that most of the young pokemon were leaving the area now that summer was ending. While it made training easier and less tedious since he didn't have to worry about destroying their homes, Ash was sure that Tangela would have enjoyed playing with them. Come to think of it, Seeker would as well, although not until it was dark.

Ash's lips curled up at that. Bruiser and Seeker were training as well. Well, Bruiser was. Seeker was just staying and socializing with the rest of the team. She didn't like fighting – it scared her. After the things she'd been through, Ash couldn't blame her. If she didn't want to fight, he wouldn't be the one to force it.

He'd have to go around and check on the rest soon. It wouldn't be that hard to find his scattered friends. Plume was within earshot and she could guide him to the others easily.

Bruiser and Infernus had been sparring. Infernus was working on his own close combat skills. While he had plenty of power and speed behind his strikes, he was undisciplined. Ash didn't want him abandoning his vicious, brutal style, but he would like Bruiser to teach Infernus how to deflect blows without taking their full force and how to be more efficient.

For Bruiser it served to get him used to fighting. Ash was sure that he'd had a few spars with other pokemon at the Corral, but he wasn't sure how many were up to par with his own pokemon. He wanted Bruiser as strong as he could be before taking on Giovanni.

The rest of his team were working on the same things they had when they were at Celadon. All of them needed some work. They were much closer to performing the powerful moves Ash knew they were capable of, but they still had a while to go.

Plume was so close to perfecting air slash. Ash was going to be helping her after he'd checked on everyone and Torrent was done for the day.

Tangela was just having fun. Ash had instructed him to work on moving around on his vines. It gave him much better mobility and greatly improved the speed in which he got around. He'd need that to avoid any nasty tricks Giovanni pulled. Fortunately, Tangela was having quite a bit of fun with it. Over the next few days Ash would have him work on power whip. It would give him a bit more power behind his attacks.

Aside from his mobility training, Ash wanted to start using Tangela more often in battles. The grass-type was on the cusp of evolution. He was displaying all of the signs the pokedex said to watch out for: lengthening vines, more energy, and even faster vine growth.

Infernus still had to perfect fire blast. The fire-type had almost mastered the move, but it was still prone to exploding at random times. Ash suspected that Infernus only had to devote another day or two to learning it before it would be under his control.

Dazed was working on a technique Ash called Flurry. It worked by Dazed producing a dozen tiny, weak shadow balls and hurling them at the opponent, or even multiple targets. While the shadow balls were weak, they could do quite a bit of damage and were able to distract an opponent. It was difficult and energy-consuming for another psychic to block all of the shadow balls, so Ash hoped it would help them out in battle.

Nidorino was just following Ash around and getting used to the rough terrain. He was still a little slow, although Ash was thinking that he would evolve Nidorino within the next two days. His injuries were no longer severe enough that evolution would harm him. Now it would just heal him perfectly.

But he didn't think that Nidorino was ready quite yet. There were still a few mottled bruises on his hide, although they were faded and barely visible. Ash was going to wait until they were completely gone to give Nidorino the shard.

It wasn't as if he didn't want to evolve Nidorino. He'd been waiting for this moment for months, as had Nidorino. He just wanted his friend to be safe above all else.

A deep, concerned rumble from Torrent snapped him from his thoughts. Ash glanced up at the concerned visage of his friend and stood up, causing Nidorino to do the same.

"Sorry, Torrent." He said with a shake of his head. "I was just thinking. Are you ready to start up again?"

Torrent nodded, his scarlet eyes blazing with determination. Ash grinned. "Alright. Do it again. Take your time."

The dragon-type rumbled his understanding and repeated the process. When the energy ball had grown to gargantuan proportions, Ash began to get a little worried. He wasn't sure if his friend was capable of controlling that much power yet.

But Torrent continued to fuel it until it was almost as large as he was. Torrent's eyes shone with glee as he turned his head and fired the massive dragon pulse towards the rocky cliff.

Ash honestly thought that this was it. Torrent had finally perfected the attack through his own iron will and determination to succeed.

Then, a little more than half-way, the dragon pulse exploded in a flash of bright green light. Ash turned his face away from the heat, although he was shielded from the explosion by Torrent's nearly invincible body. He opened his eyes and nodded thankfully at his friend before staring at the cliff face.

The explosion hadn't done much damage, but it had gouged out a large chunk of the rugged stone and pulled it to the ground. Loose rock around it began to fall out as well, more and more stone and dirt falling and kicking up a huge cloud of dust.

Torrent levitated protectively in front of Ash and Nidorino, preparing to blow the rubble away if necessary. Fortunately, it never came to that. The rock slide ended as soon as it began, harming nothing and only leaving a huge pile of rubble and torn rock at the base of the cliff, along with a huge dust cloud.

And then the three froze. Nidorino's ears twitched and Torrent's eyes glinted with something Ash couldn't quite make out through the thick haze of dust. Ash frowned when he heard a deep, annoyed roar flash out over the landscape, loud enough to be heard all throughout the forest.

He thought it seemed quite familiar for some reason. Ash just couldn't place his finger on where he'd heard it before. What he did suspect was that they'd annoyed something very large and very powerful with the explosion and resulting rock slide.

"Get ready." He warned. "I'll call Plume if you two can't handle whatever this is."

His friends didn't respond. Torrent simply took up a defensive position in front of him and prepared to unleash the fullest extent of his wrath and power should the newcomer be a threat. Nidorino flanked Torrent, a current of electricity running up his horn and sparking out in a brilliant, incandescent arc.

The roar grew louder, a constant, powerful rumble that dwarfed that of Torrent's. The deep, intimidating timbre of Torrent was like the crash of the ocean: powerful, but it was never constant. This was the earth crashing against itself, a constant boom of thunder cracking through the air.

And then he saw a tan blur coming from high in the air before the ground shattered beneath the newcomer, kicking up an explosion of dust and wind that knocked Ash onto his backside. He barely had time to tell his friends to hold themselves back before the force of the impact hit and stunned him, rendering him useless for a few seconds.

He groaned as he pulled himself up, but he never let his eyes stray from the cloud of dust. Whatever had just slammed into the ground with enough force to splinter the earth hadn't attacked yet, but he wasn't about to be careless. Anything with that much power behind it had to be a monster, and considering that it was capable of flying it was probably a dragon-type.

When the dust cleared, all of the tension intensified.

A massive dragonite, large enough to match the cornerstone of Lance's team, stood before him. Its scales were twice as large as his hand and blanketed its huge body in a thick armor, yet it was still sleek and aerodynamic enough to let it break the sound barrier. Everything that was regal about Lance's Dragonite spoke true for this one as well, but the numerous scars and dents on its scales bespoke of even more battles against unspeakably powerful foes.

Almost anyone else would have been terrified of the beast. Its eyes were narrowed in annoyance, red from lack of sleep. The normally friendly, upturned mouth of a dragonite was flipped into a frown. The antennae that would allow it to detect air currents and utilize powerful electric-type attacks were rigid and sparking.

But he just grinned. He knew this Dragonite. It belonged to Professor Oak, his prime enforcer when it came to dealing with unruly pokemon around Pallet Town and in the Corral. Ash knew that Dragonite lived somewhere around Pallet, but he hadn't known it was in this area.

"Dragonite!" He exclaimed, recognizing the powerful creature. Ash didn't know it as well as he did Arcanine since it normally rested and lived far from the Corral, but he'd seen the dragon enough to recognize it. "It's me, Ash!"

Dragonite cocked his large head at Ash in confusion and stared at him carefully, some of the aggression leaving his bulky form. It took him a moment, but his eyes sparked with recognition. At that his aggression vanished, although Dragonite was still annoyed.

"I'm sorry for the noise." Ash apologized, trying to appease the annoyed creature. "Did we disturb you?"

The dragon-type nodded, watching Ash intently with his sharp eyes. Ash had walked in front of Torrent, much to the annoyance of the kingdra and Nidorino.

"If I'd known you were around here I would have found somewhere else to train." Ash told the bulky dragon-type. He pointed at Torrent. "Torrent's just trying to learn dragon pulse, and I didn't want to destroy any trees. I'd thought the cliff was tough enough to stand up to it."

Dragonite's eyes lit up when Ash pointed to Torrent. He nodded his understanding to Ash and stared intently at Torrent, measuring the water-type up. It was a tense affair for a few seconds since neither Ash nor his friends could decipher Dragonite's emotions, but it leveled off.

The old dragon seemed to have found Torrent acceptable. He roared in a friendly manner to Torrent, waving one of his brutally powerful arms at the water-type. Torrent rumbled back, dipping his head respectfully to the more powerful pokemon.

Ash stepped back when Dragonite shooed him away. He and Nidorino watched carefully as Dragonite gracefully walked over next to Torrent and motioned for Ash's friend to watch carefully. Dragonite gave a low roar to Torrent, not particularly powerful for the dragon-type but still holding enough energy to make the earth vibrate.

Torrent rumbled something in return, causing Dragonite to nod. He looked over at the mass of rubble and gouged out chunks of stone and tensed up. Ash watched in awe as a massively powerful ball of green, glowing light formed in front of Dragonite. It was as large as Torrent's last, disastrous attempt at dragon pulse and took less than a second to form.

He suspected that Dragonite could easily make one several degrees more powerful. Dragonite didn't seem to be strained at all by the beginning stage of dragon pulse.

Dragonite held it for a while, grunting at Torrent quickly. Ash couldn't hear any sign of effort in his grunts. He seemed more bored than anything else, although interested in helping Torrent.

And then he fired it.

The dragon pulse was obviously more powerful than Torrent's. When it was released a shockwave of air and force blasted outwards, displacing air and kicking up a small cloud of dust. Despite the haze, Ash could easily make out the vibrant ball of energy as it flashed at the immense pile of rubble.

It exploded in a supernova of green light and heat. Ash had to shy away from the heat, Torrent too entranced by the work of the masterful Dragonite to levitate in front of him. The experience wasn't too bad, although Ash's skin tingled for a while and he felt a light covering of dust on his exposed skin.

That wasn't important though. What did matter was that Dragonite was grunting some more instructions to Torrent, waving around with his large arms to emphasize his points.

Ash just watched Dragonite for the remainder of the time. Dragonite left relatively quickly, just three minutes or so after he began teaching Torrent. In that time he used dragon pulse twice more, reducing what little remained of the pile of rubble into fine powder and a few odd chunks of ravaged stone.

Dragonite waved them goodbye before he launched himself away, knocking Ash onto his back and forcing Torrent and Nidorino back a few inches. He vanished in just a few seconds, becoming a tiny dot high in the sky by the time Ash was able to look up.

He glanced around the area. Dragonite had left a mess. Dirt covered everything in a fine layer. The earth had been cracked and caved in underneath Dragonite's pressure, unable to withstand the force of his landing. The huge chunks of stone and earth that had fallen from the cliff were reduced to dust.

Even if he had left a mess, it was all worth it.

"Torrent, do you think you've got this?" Ash asked. It was always easier for his friends to learn new moves after they'd actually seen them in action. Torrent was always quite intuitive when it came to learning anyways, so with an example he should be able to complete his learning. He had mostly mastered dragon pulse anyways. This was just the last push.

Torrent nodded, determination blazing in his eyes again. Ash held his breath as his friend levitated into a position where he could safely fire the attack. His eyes were intent on the large, scaled form of his friend.

A small, intense ball of soft green light formed in front of Torrent's mouth, a core of white energy providing the support. Ash nodded at that, pleased. Torrent wasn't succumbing to his annoyance and trying to overcompensate with one of the huge spheres. He was taking it easy.

His friend focused intently for another second before firing the ball at the cliff.

It flashed towards the sheer stone wall at an incredible speed, glowing brightly and providing the light of a second, miniature sun. Ash watched, a wide grin slowly growing on his dirty face.

And then it fizzled out, just a few feet away from the cliff.

Ash sighed, but patted Torrent's side in consolation. He was close, so close.

But it was progress.

"Again." He ordered. "You've almost got it."

Torrent puffed his chest out and fired another dragon pulse, but met with a similar result. But it got closer. Ash noticed that it was a bit more intense as well, carrying more power behind it.

"Again."

Torrent gladly carried out the attack again, refusing to succumb to his annoyance. It failed again, but got ever closer to the target.

They ended up performing the attack countless times. Every time Torrent got closer and closer to his goal, but something would go wrong. The dragon pulse would weaken and vanish at the last second or lose too much strength. Sometimes it would actually hit but would lose most of its power.

Nearly an hour later, Ash sighed and leaned back against the tree. He was growing weary of this. He would like nothing more than to take a break and go check on his other friends. But he had a responsibility to Torrent. His friend was going crazy trying to perfect this technique, and he wouldn't let him do it alone. The trainer refused to give up, just like Torrent.

"One more time." He said groggily. Nidorino had curled up by his foot a while ago, bored and exhausted. They had walked around and trekked over quite a bit of rugged landscape to get here. Ash wasn't surprised that Nidorino was so tired. Aside from the remnants of his injuries, his species were meant for open plains and grasslands, not a forest.

Torrent rumbled his agreement. Despite his enthusiasm and growing skill with dragon pulse, Ash knew that his constant failures were grating on his nerves and grinding his patience into nothingness. Ash did his best to be encouraging, but his own weariness wasn't helping any more.

This time, though, there was something different. The sphere of green energy formed faster, glowed a bit brighter, burned more intensely.

It was as though Torrent had poured all of his remaining effort and power into this one attack.

The dragon pulse was released, leaving a trail of green shimmers in its wake. It slammed into the cliff without losing any of its energy, releasing its power in the form of a massive explosion.

Ash blinked and stared in awe at the huge gouge Torrent's dragon pulse had ripped in the cliff. Torrent froze and stared as well, amazed that he had finally done it. Nidorino leapt up in surprise at the sound of the explosion and scanned the area carefully.

And then Ash ran over to Torrent, jumping in excitement and patting him heavily, shouting his congratulations.

"You did great, Torrent!" He yelled excitedly, too excited to care about his volume. Torrent didn't seem to mind either. His scaled body was shaking in excitement, still only because Ash was patting him. "I knew you could do it! You just needed a teacher."

Torrent rumbled in agreement and happiness and leaned his regal head into Ash's hand. Ash laughed and patted him again.

Nidorino joined in on the celebration as well, just as excited to be done with watching Torrent throw energy balls as he was for the dragon-type's accomplishment.

Ash grinned as Nidorino lightly tapped Torrent with the tip of his horn in a friendly manner.

Torrent wasn't ready for Giovanni yet, but it was a start. As long as they trained diligently, he would be fine.

Now, however, it was time for the rest of Ash's friends to buckle down. They were probably doing great on their own, but Ash had a few strategies to work on.

He grinned. This was going to be fun.

XX

Ash watched Bruiser easily lift a huge boulder with a critical eye. He'd been training with Bruiser all of yesterday and today. After Torrent had mastered dragon pulse two days ago, he just checked up on his friends' progress before going home.

Yesterday and today had been exclusively for Bruiser. Ash would be training with him on other days, but he would have to start switching his focus on the other members of his team to keep them up to snuff. He didn't want to neglect any of them, after all.

Nidorino was sitting down next to his foot, idly shooting thunderbolts at one of the massive blocks of stone that littered the area. He was bored during the training. Ash let Nidorino battle whenever they came across a trainer, but trainers were rare on the western side of Kanto, let alone in the wilderness near Pallet.

Seeker and Tangela watched from underneath the shade of a massive tree, its canopy keeping the shade from hitting Seeker and burning her skin. She and Tangela had become friends quickly, although Ash doubted they would ever be as close as Seeker and Bruiser were. Still, it was nice. Tangela kept her busy while Bruiser trained and Seeker liked sitting on top of Tangela.

He'd recognized a major problem with training Bruiser: Ash had no idea how to train a fighting-type.

Most physical moves weren't too difficult to teach. Either they simply harnessed an element like Infernus' normally did or were simple and natural for the pokemon to carry out, like Nidorino's horn attack.

Fighting-type moves, however, required finesse. They weren't just punching and kicking, they were techniques. They weren't natural for a pokemon to learn, although fighting-types picked them up much easier than others. In a way they were similar to dragon-type moves. They required a teacher.

Unfortunately, Ash wasn't a fighter. He didn't know how to teach Bruiser to use any new fighting-type moves. Bruiser knew a healthy amount already, which were probably taught to him by other fighting-types or through imitation. But he didn't know the extremely powerful fighting-type moves like cross chop or dynamic punch. Ash also wanted to teach him foresight. It would let him see ghosts when they turned invisible and dispel illusions created by pokemon.

He had tried to teach Bruiser the moves through descriptions and videos on the pokedex, but Bruiser just didn't get them that way. Pokemon seemed to learn best through an actual demonstration, although the pokedex entries were useful as a reference.

So right now he simply had Bruiser testing the limits of his strength and gaining battling experience by battling his other friends.

The first objective was pointless. Bruiser didn't seem to have any practical limits on his strength, even with the power save belt. He could effortlessly lift huge boulders and tear trees out of the ground. Both of those were impressive, but it ruined the purpose of the exercise.

Ash would lie if he said it wasn't incredible to see Bruiser perform such feats of strength, however. If a human tried to do that, even if they were as strong as Bruiser, it would tear their arms out of their sockets and cause irreparable damage to their bodies. Humans just weren't made for such things. There was a lot more to lifting and strength than just muscle, after all. Bruiser had nigh unbreakable bones and incredible tough tendons to go with his incredible strength.

The second objective was far more practical. Bruiser failed to defeat the others in most cases. Infernus simply used his flames, speed and great power to overwhelm Bruiser and Tangela simply wrapped his vines around Bruiser before he sucked the energy out of him.

Plume, Dazed and Torrent didn't battle Bruiser. Ash knew that Bruiser had no hope of defeating Plume or Dazed thanks to their type advantages, so it would be pointless. Bruiser needed to get a workout and experience, not just be thrown about like a rag doll. Torrent was just too powerful to spar with the fighting-type.

"That's enough, Bruiser." Ash called out. He took a quick sip from his water bottle before standing up. Bruiser gently placed the rock back into its original position and walked over to him, swinging his arms around. The fighting-type looked like he was having the time of his life.

"Bruiser, who do you want to fight now?" He asked. Bruiser's reptilian face was suddenly split by a grin. Even though the fighting-type frequently lost and only won every now and then, he was getting better. It certainly hadn't dampened his fighting spirit.

Bruiser pointed at Infernus. The fire-type was taking a break from battling and was sitting in a large pile of ash. Ash grinned and called Infernus over.

Infernus lazily stood up and gave a malicious grin towards Bruiser. The two had a fierce rivalry, stemming all the way back to their confrontation at the cave. Bruiser's main goal was to defeat Infernus, while Infernus enjoyed beating Bruiser into a pulp. While Infernus constantly held the edge and always would if Ash didn't tell him to avoid elemental attacks, the fights were getting tougher for the fire-type. Bruiser was getting to know his tricks.

The fire-type stalked over to them, his eyes narrowed and filled with amusement. Fire danced around his skin, although Infernus extinguished it when he neared. Ash had told him to not use it when battling Bruiser. It gave Infernus an incredible advantage when Infernus was too hot to even hit.

Both of the fighters squared up and took their positions. Bruiser's stance was far more disciplined, showing his incredible strength while prepared to be more fluid in combat. Infernus' was aggressive, consisting of him tensing up and leaning forward. He was ready to leap into the fray faster than Bruiser could react.

"Go." Ash said, his eyes glued to the fight. He was trying to pick out both of their weaknesses, although he knew both of their combat styles and flaws by heart.

The fight began as predicted. Infernus launched a brutal punch straight at Bruiser's face, forcing the fighting-type to defend. That set the pace for the rest of the fight.

Although Infernus couldn't use his flames in the fight, he proved to be an adept fighter without them. Even though the flames made him the juggernaut and monster in combat that he was, he was still fast, strong and brutal without them.

Infernus launched fast, powerful strikes. They were unrefined but when just one could send Bruiser stumbling back they didn't have to be. He made up for his lack of discipline with sheer ferocity and power.

Bruiser, on the other hand, showed his mastery of close quarters combat. He blocked and redirected most of Infernus' blows and did his best to dodge those that were too fast. He struck with enough strength to send Infernus crashing to the ground, although Ash knew that he was holding back. All machoke did when it came to their strength. But Infernus was too fast for Bruiser.

It ended as it normally did – with Infernus outmaneuvering Bruiser thanks to his superior speed and reflexes. Bruiser overextended in a punch, leaving himself exposed to a brutal fist to the gut from Infernus, who took advantage of Bruiser's pain to launch a flurry of blows into Bruiser's body. In a matter of seconds Bruiser went down, durable but unable to match Infernus.

Ash smiled and applauded for both of them. It had gone on longer than usual and showed that Bruiser was making real strides. While he had plenty of skill and strength – more than enough to defeat most trainers – he just wasn't used to fighting. That was Bruiser's main problem aside from Ash not really knowing how to train him. It was much easier to correct, however, and Bruiser was already making progress.

Bruiser drowsily pulled himself up, eyes narrowed in determination. He assumed his stance again. Infernus snorted a small burst of flame, clearly amused. Nevertheless, he prepared himself.

The trainer grinned. Bruiser didn't have the skill or power of a great battler yet, but he definitely had the heart and will of one.

"Begin."

XX

The next day was one to relax. His friends had worked incredibly hard over the past few days, practicing their moves and leaving the areas they frequented in ruin from their intense battles.

But it was also one of the most important days in Ash's journey, despite the lax atmosphere.

Today was the day that Nidorino would evolve.

He had proven time and again this week that he was healing. Nidorino had battled well in the occasions Ash had used him and had worked hard to regain his former strength. Now that the last of the faded bruises had vanished, Ash was confident that it was safe.

Ash had allowed Nidorino to choose where he would evolve. He figured it was only fair since Ash had postponed it for so long.

Much to his surprise, Nidorino had chosen the area right in front of Oak's lab. It was the exact location where Ash and Gary had first battled, with the then Nidoran being triumphant over Gary's Squirtle.

He gave a soft smile at the memory, thinking back to how much he'd grown since then. It was such a short time ago, but seemed to have happened decades ago. Ash had changed so much since he'd started off with his two travelling companions and Nidoran.

Nidorino grunted excitedly, hopping around the area. Ash grinned and dug the shard of the Moon Stone from his pocket, the impossibly smooth surface glossy against his fingers. As he exposed it to the world, Ash looked around the area.

All of his friends were there. Dazed stood right behind him, motionless but interested. Infernus flanked him, his eyes burning with excitement. Ash suspected that the fire-type couldn't wait to battle Nidorino again, especially not when the poison-type would be even more powerful. It would give Infernus someone who could really test him.

Tangela was plopped down on the dirt beside him, happily gurgling and absorbing the sun. He was playing with two of the tiny nidoran from the herd. They had come over when Ash had talked about evolving Nidorino. Both of the juvenile poison-types hissed and scratched playfully at each other and tried to jump on Tangela, although the grass-type quickly caught them with his vines and tickled them mercilessly.

Ash smiled at the scene and turned over to look at Plume. She was also behind him, her huge body standing high above him. He gently stroked her crest as Nidorino worked the rest of his energy out, eliciting a soft coo from the flying-type.

Bruiser and Seeker stood in the shadows of Oak's lab. Seeker clung to Bruiser's back, only her head exposed. She was clicking and using her echolocation constantly. Ash knew that she was just as interested in this as the others. Bruiser eyed the scene with curiosity and barely pent up excitement.

Torrent was next to Infernus. The immense heat the fire-type's body produced didn't bother the powerful water-type, so he didn't get uncomfortable. As one of the oldest members of the team, Torrent was amongst the most excited. Ash could see it in the intent stare and small quivers that went up Torrent's body. But the kingdra remained refined and dignified and did his best to avoid showing his feelings.

All the others crowding around Nidorino were of the nidoran herd, although Arcanine and his growlithe had joined them as well. Nidoqueen was shushing the others, although the excited nidoran continued to squeak and play. Ash grinned as one of the excited poison-types accidently ran into his leg, bumping off and giving him an apologetic squeal before returning to its herd.

He noticed that the nidorina appeared to be particularly interested in Nidorino and his upcoming evolution. They were eying him intently, completely ignoring the nidoran bouncing around them. The nidorino, on the other hand, were snorting and growling at Nidorino. Nidorino just ignored them, too ecstatic at his upcoming evolution to care about his soon-to-be subordinates.

"Nidorino, it's time." Ash said quietly, putting his hand high into the air and revealing the shard of the Moon Stone to the crowd.

It had an immediate effect on the pokemon.

All of the nidoran herd instantly stared at it as though it were the most important thing in the world. The nidoran were uncharacteristically silent and sat down, too enraptured by the stone to think about playing. The nidorina froze and bowed their heads, scarlet eyes wide with awe. All of the nidorino had a similar reaction. They even paused in their growling. Nidoqueen bowed her great head, her wise eyes shining with respect to the shard.

The rest of the pokemon merely froze. Arcanine no longer had to worry about calming the loud, playful growlithe. They were in awe, albeit lesser than that of the nidoran herd.

His friends were under the shard's spell as well. It seemed to possess a power that it hadn't had when he first showed them on the boat coming back to Pallet. Something about it actually being used, free to exercise its power upon a willing pokemon, gave it an ethereal shine that drew their attention. Its inky coloration seemed even darker than usual, yet brighter in its power.

Even Infernus was rooted to the ground, Ash noticed wryly. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off of the tiny sliver of the Moon Stone.

Nidorino slowly approached, limbs trembling as Ash knelt to the ground and held out the shard. His ears were flat and his barbs were nowhere to be seen as he approached the shard, his gaze never once leaving the item that would make him an opponent to be truly feared.

Yet he showed willpower beyond any of the other pokemon present when he managed to break the shard's spell. Nidorino raised his head to stare Ash in the eyes, gratitude welling up inside of them. Black met brown for several moments, pokemon and trainer silently thanking each other for everything that had lead to this point.

Nidorino grunted his gratitude to Ash before slowly lowering his head and gently placing his horn on the shard. He was almost tender in the care he showed to the shard of the Moon Stone, showing respect that was almost religious.

Ash's first and greatest friend held his horn to the shard for several seconds before he stumbled backwards, an impossibly bright light suffusing the tip of his sharp horn. Nidorino roared as the glow suddenly spread throughout the rest of his body in a single second, leaving the ordinarily pink creature a brilliant, glowing white.

He wanted to avert his eyes from the glowing form of his friend badly. The light stung his eyes, making his nerves scream at him to look away.

But he couldn't. He refused to. Nidorino was his first friend. Ash hadn't seen the full transformation from the timid Nidoran into the powerful Nidorino. He wouldn't miss this for anything.

Nidorino roared in pain as the light intensified. He reared up on his hind legs and stayed there, balanced and supported by some invisible, helpful force. Spasms wracked his glowing form as his body grew and shifted into the immense form of his new form. His body shuddered and twitched as more and more of the bright energy coursed through it.

His glowing body suddenly lengthened and thickened, thick layers of pure muscle and nigh impenetrable scales growing over his own thick hide, bones lengthening and growing dense and strong, organs shifting and his skeleton snapping into position.

Thick, burly limbs erupted from his smaller ones. They twisted and snapped into place, eliciting another roar of pain from his friend. His legs went through the same process, swelling with muscle and thick armor before they suddenly grew and wrenched themselves into place, guided by the evolutionary genes.

Ash clenched his fists at Nidorino's roars and screams, the process obviously much more painful than it had been the first time. His friend's roar refused to let up, growing in deepness and power.

His new, massive body, still glowing with evolutionary energy, shuddered and twisted in pain. He roared even louder, the deep tone threatening Ash's subconscious and raising the hair on the back of his neck. Ash shuddered but didn't tear his eyes away.

The poison-type's barbs and spines glowed even brighter, looking small and out of place on the much larger body. Ash winced as the agonized roars intensified, the horrible noise elicited by the sudden lengthening and growing of the rows of spines, the spikes growing nearly half a foot in most instances.

The effect continued all the way up the poison-type's spine until it reached his head. His magnificent horn, his greatest weapon and capable of doing much more than stabbing and goring, suddenly lengthened to nine inches, a weapon fit for a king.

His ears remained mostly the same, although the small spikes on them lengthened and grew thicker.

The last of his agonizing transformation to occur was the growth of the tail. After the rest of his body had twisted and morphed into place, his immense, powerful tail sprouting from Nidorino's rounded exterior. It elicited the loudest roar of them all as the entirely new body part erupted from nothing, the thick, muscular tail that could shatter boulders with a single swing writhing uncontrollably.

And then the light left his friend, exposing his new form to Ash's eyes.

Nidorin – Nidoking was magnificent. Painful spasms still wracked his body from the agonizing process, but he stood straight and tall, dignified.

He was much larger than his previous evolution. He could stand on his hind legs, which were thick and layered over with thick scales. His body was no longer pink, but a deep, rich purple that befitted a king amongst nidoran. Nidoking had distinctly reptilian features along with his mammalian ones, mostly consisting of the thick plates of scales that gave him his armor.

His horn was much larger and thicker, but no less sharp. It ended at a wickedly pointed tip, which would leak venom much more potent than it had as Nidorino. Nidoking's ears were mostly the same, but a tiny bit larger and the insides were a dark green.

Nidoking's eyes were narrow and fierce, showing the true power that his form and mind possessed. His arms were thick and highly muscular, more than powerful enough to shatter stone if need be. They ended in claws, not very sharp but very effective in crushing. All of his spines had lengthened dramatically, growing much more fearsome than before.

Unlike before, Nidoking wasn't just one color. While predominantly purple, his muscular chest was the exception. It was gray, highlighting the muscles that powered Nidoking's huge body.

But the biggest anatomical difference was his tail. It was a fearsome weapon, just as dangerous as his horn. The thick length of muscled and impenetrable armor could crush stone and end a match with a single attack if need be.

Nidoking's sudden collapse brought Ash back to reality. His eyes widened and he rushed forward to help his friend. Dazed didn't try to stop him, so he surmised it was safe.

The moment he got within a foot of Nidoking's shuddering, pain-wracked from, Nidoking's massive head snapped up. Ash froze and met Nidoking's pained black eyes.

His friend's eyes held no recognition. They were dark and furious, the pain remaining from his transformation leaving nothing but rage behind them.

Nidoking opened his mouth and roared, revealing rows of huge fangs. The roar was that of a beast, a predator that had firmly implanted itself in the subconscious of every human with its power and the furious intent behind it.

Everything in his body ordered him to run as Nidoking pulled himself up onto his shaky hind legs, instincts telling him to do so but without the experience to use them well.

But he stood stock still and kept on staring Nidoking in the eyes, refusing to be intimidated. Everything about the situation went against the survival handbooks and safety courses he'd had to take before getting his license, but Ash didn't care. Nidoking was his friend. He wouldn't back down.

Nidoking stood up to his full height and roared again, stamping his foot and making the earth tremble. He growled deeply at Ash and stepped forward until there was virtually no distance between the two.

"Stop this now." Ash ordered, letting none of his nervousness enter his tone. Nidoking stared at him with no recognition, fury being the only thing present in the black eyes. "It's me, Ash." He said in a friendly, soothing manner. Nidoking just growled again, exposing his fangs as he did so.

"I know that hurt." He said quietly. Nidoking just stared at him furiously, claws opening and grasping at nothing. "But it's over now. You know me. It's Ash, your trainer. We're best friends."

Nidoking's eyes suddenly flickered in recognition. His rage vanished almost instantly, cognition returning to him. He snapped his head around and looked down at his massive claws and legs. The poison-type experimentally moved his arms around, staring at them as though he couldn't believe they were there.

And then he placed one of his arms behind Ash's back and pulled him into a crushing hug, having picked up the human expression of affection from being around Ash's mother so much lately.

Ash blinked in surprise as he was pulled into his friend's thick, muscular chest, but grinned. He was careful as he patted Nidoking's back. He knew where the main spikes were, but there was always variation. It would put a dampener on the occasion if he accidently stabbed himself with one of Nidoking's spines.

He was let go of a moment later. Ash was impressed by his friend's level of control over his immense strength, but figured that he shouldn't have been too surprised. Nidoking had always known his capabilities very well.

"Are you alright?" He asked his friends, sympathy and worry coloring his tone. Ash had seen the pain Nidoking had went through during evolution. It had been an amazing but brutal thing to watch.

Nidoking grunted an affirmative, a shudder passing through his huge body. Ash stepped back and realized that he was still clutching the shard in his hand. It hadn't cut him thanks to its perfectly smooth, rounded edges, but it had left a deep indentation in his flesh.

He grinned at Nidoking and motioned for him to walk over to him.

As Nidoking made his first hesitant steps, the spell broke.

The nidoran swarmed him, squealing and hissing happily. Nidoqueen stood still, but watched Nidoking with an inscrutable expression. While the nidorina hesitantly approached Nidoking with interested expressions, the nidorino stayed close to Nidoqueen. Apparently Nidorino's evolution into Nidoking had placed him far above the protectors of the herd.

Ash grinned as dozens of pidgey began chirping and calling to one another. They and a few rattata had approached while Nidoking had been evolving, it seemed. He'd been too focused on his friend to even notice.

Not as many pokemon turned up for Nidoking's evolution, but it was still an impressive amount. His friend was practically buried in a horde of nidoran and nidorina and seemed rather pleased by the attention, if a little surprised. Nidoking kept on struggling forward through the crowd until the excited juveniles let him pass.

Nidoking walked straight to Ash on awkward legs. He nearly stumbled several times, but kept his body tall and as dignified as he could manage. Ash was still as Nidoking walked over to him and knelt, dipping his head in respect to the trainer.

Ash was frozen, not expecting the gesture. A slow grin spread across his face, though. "You don't need to bow to me, Nidoking. We're friends."

The huge poison-type nodded and seemed to smile at him before rising. He was still covered in most of the excited nidoran, who were jumping up and trying to climb his gigantic body, but they weren't too loud.

"Looks like you've got some admirers, buddy." Ash said with a wry grin, glancing down at the squirming nidoran. He sent a pointed glance over to the nidorina and Nidoqueen. "I think they want to talk to you."

Nidoking nodded, clearly not surprised at that. But he pointed a large claw at Ash and nodded.

"I'll be fine." Ash told him, a soft smile on his lips. He was glad that Nidoking was as loyal and friendly as ever, but he knew that he needed to be with his own kind right now. The evolution of a Nidoking was a rare thing, one that the herd had a right to celebrate. "We'll have plenty of time later. I'll make sure to get my mom to get you some sitrus berries."

The poison-type's black eyes lit up, clearly happy at the mention of his favorite berry. Ash grinned. "See, I'll get everything set up. You just go and be with the herd. We have plenty of time."

Nidoking nodded and lowered his head to Ash again before walking off awkwardly, still not used to his legs. He stumbled, but it happened less and less often as he joined the herd and slowly made his way to the fields. Nidoqueen supported him and kept him from tripping and crashing down on the smaller nidoran that crowded around him.

Ash watched them go with a wistful smile on his face. The other pokemon were leaving now that the main spectacle was over. Pidgey flew away on their small wings, guarded by a few pidgeotto and a lone pidgeot in their midst, and rattata and the solitary raticate scampered away.

Arcanine dashed off in a blur, followed by the happily barking and yapping growlithe. After the great canine left, it was only Ash and his friends that remained.

He turned around and glanced over at them. "Well, I guess all of you can go off and do whatever now. Tomorrow's going to be a hard day."

His friends showed their understanding before wandering off. Only Dazed remained, staring at him blankly while she idly polished her stone pendulum in her white mane. Ash didn't blame them. When he said that tomorrow would be hard, he wasn't lying and his friends knew it. They were going to relax as much as they could before they went through a particularly brutal day of training.

Ash smiled at Dazed. "Looks like it's just you and me, Dazed."

Dazed cocked her head and blinked, still polishing her pendulum with graceful movements. Ash just shook his head and smiled wider before he walked down to his house. He needed to tell his mom the good news. He'd kept the event a secret so that he could surprise her and Professor Oak.

He wasted no time. There was a lot to get ready and Nidoking wouldn't be with the herd forever.

XX

Ash was in his room. His mother was up at Professor Oak's house getting everything ready. They'd be eating outside at the Corral tonight so that Nidoking and the other pokemon could join in on the celebration.

He was going to go up to help her out in a few minutes. But for now he had something he needed to do.

There were two items in his hands. One was a huge plate of a scale, tan and bent. The other was an inky black shard of the Moon Stone. Both were trophies, the most valuable things he owned. Gifts from two of the most powerful trainers in the world.

They were also going to stay in his room from now on. He didn't want to risk losing them to a thief or accident if his pack was lost, so it was best to keep them in a safe place. Ash would probably place them in a case sometime soon, but for now he just placed them in one of his drawers.

When that was done he found the broken half of a pokeball on his dresser and picked it up. He gazed at it intently, taking in every scrape and jagged edge on the broken pokeball. It was clear that it had had a rough career even before being broken.

He smiled as he put it into the storage compartment he reserved for his personal belongings. Not much was in there now that he'd removed his treasures, but the pokeball helped to make it a less empty place.

That tattered, broken half of a pokeball was much more valuable to him than almost any other material possession. It was what symbolized the end of his and Gary's friendship and the beginning of their rivalry.

He'd meant to bring it on his journey with him, just to make sure that he always had some motivation to become better. But he'd been so excited over starting off and beating Gary that he'd forgotten. Not that it really mattered. Aside from the fact he had plenty of motivation from his friends to get stronger, Ash had barely considered Gary worthy as a rival after the first time he'd beat him. That sentiment had vanished after Gary beat him in return, but had returned in full force after he'd easily defeated Gary outside of Saffron.

But now Gary was worthy again. He'd lost, but it was clear that he'd grown. He wasn't weak anymore. Ash was better, but Gary was catching up. It had the potential to be a real challenge one day.

Ash stood in his room for just a few more minutes, looking around and trying to remember how he'd thought before he began his journey. His room just seemed so foreign to him now, far from the sleeping mat he'd gotten used to and the harsh life on the road. It was strange.

But he shook it off and turned around. Ash started when he realized that Dazed had been standing less than a foot behind him, silent and invisible to his senses. He gave her a dirty look and rolled his eyes as he walked around her yellow body.

She smiled at him with her sleepy eyes before shuffling behind him. Ash couldn't hold back his smile as they walked out of his room and left the small house. Bruiser and Seeker were nowhere to be seen. The fighting-type had happily lugged all of the necessary equipment. He assumed that Seeker had been covered by something in order to protect her from the sun.

Ash had called Plume about an hour ago, just after his mother had started gathering everything she would need for the dinner. She was tasked with finding the others and telling them to come to the Oak Corral later. He would have done it himself, but he had no idea where Nidoking or Infernus would be.

Nidoking was definitely somewhere in the Corral. Some of the pokemon would leave for a while, but the nidoran herd was always too edgy and paranoid to trust the wilderness, even with their powerful guards.

Infernus…well, he was probably somewhere in the Corral as well. Ash could never find him when he looked for him, although he'd seen Infernus testing himself against Arcanine and any of the other fire-types he could find every now and then.

Still, he didn't need to worry. Plume would find them easy enough and get them to the lab.

"Can you teleport me outside of Professor Oak's house?" He asked. While he didn't mind the walk, Dazed still needed practice with teleportation. It wasn't the most important part of her strategy, but still held a key role in allowing her to maneuver around the battlefield. She had neglected it for the past few days.

Despite her own dislike of teleportation, Dazed nodded. Her eyes glowed brightly before the two of them vanished in a flash of light. They instantaneously appeared outside of Professor Oak's home and lab. Ash saw Bruiser setting up a table on the nearby field. He gave a friendly wave at Bruiser, which was happily returned.

"Thanks." He said to Dazed with a nod. She smiled at him with her eyes and followed him as he walked into the home, not bothering to knock. Dazed followed him into the kitchen and began staring at one of the lights with a peaceful expression, oblivious to Ash as he walked up to his mother.

"Do you need help?" He asked. While Bruiser was setting everything up and doing the heavy work, his mother had a lot to handle. Making food for both the humans and Ash's friends along with Arcanine was a great task, after all. Ash couldn't help that much with the cooking – he was awful at it, even after months on the road – but he could help prepare.

His mother nodded thankfully. She was making a dish that Ash didn't recognize, but it looked delicious. "Just get on the potatoes. I'll tell you what to do once you're done with that."

Ash walked over to where a small bag of potatoes were and set to work. He jumped as a small, furry body swept down onto his back and shoulder, but laughed when Seeker started chattering into his ear.

At least it wouldn't be boring.

XX

"Nidoking is perfectly healthy." Oak announced after he had finished examining the powerful poison-type. He stood up and glanced over at Ash with respect in his eyes. "I must say, you've trained him quite well. I knew he would be an impressive specimen the moment I saw him, but you've made him stronger than I could have anticipated."

Ash grinned at the praise from the Professor. Nidoking gave his own pleased growl at the assessment, causing the ground around him to quiver a little bit. Until he gained a bit more control over his new power and typing, Nidoking would have issues like that.

"He has a bit to go before he's ready for the upper levels of the Indigo Conference, however." Oak announced, sending a cursory glance at Nidoking. The poison-type seemed annoyed at the slight criticism, but didn't act out on it.

"You really did bond well with him." The Professor said with a wry grin. He looked at Ash. "He hasn't reached his potential yet, but he will eventually. You've done a marvelous job. Most newly evolved Nidoking would have gone on a rampage right then."

Ash frowned. "Just for that?" He asked incredulously. It was barely even criticism. For such a slight thing to spark a rampage seemed silly. Ash had read about Nidoking's short tempers, but he hadn't thought it was that extreme.

"Indeed." Oak said with a small smile. He walked over to the table and sat down before starting to get into the remainders of his food again. "When they first evolve, they have absolutely awful tempers. There are just too many hormones and too much testosterone in their system for the first few weeks. It levels off, but it seems that Nidoking won't have that problem. I've heard that it isn't as bad when they see another as superior, but this is the first time I've ever seen the principle in action."

That made Ash sigh in relief and send Nidoking a thankful nod. He was very, very glad that he wouldn't have to worry about Nidoking going berserk and destroying everything in sight at the drop of a hat.

Nidoking snorted and pulled up the absolutely massive bowl Professor Oak had provided for him. It was filled to the brim with fresh fruit and large, juicy berries. He would still be able to get by fine on the pokemon food Ash normally carried, but he would need berries and fruit mixed in with his diet every now and then.

He'd already eaten the bowl full of sitrus berries his mother had given him. Oak had graciously given up a decent portion of his supply for Nidoking. The Professor said that being allowed to study Nidoking so closely was all the payment he needed, but Ash figured he was just being nice. He was the Pokemon Professor of Kanto. Oak could have ten nidoking delivered to him if he just wanted to study them.

Ash glanced around the scene with a soft smile. It had gotten dark an hour ago, so Seeker was free to fly around and mingle with the other pokemon. She'd spent quite a bit of time on his back before becoming brave enough to meet the rest of Ash's pokemon, most of whom she'd only seen or had the barest amount of contact with.

He was glad to see that she was mostly accepted. Infernus had shot a warning blow of flame at her when she tried to flutter over to him, but the rest of his friends were quite happy to see her. Even Infernus wasn't too hostile, although he refused to let the zubat anywhere near him. It looked like her sacrifice for Ash was greatly appreciated.

Infernus and Arcanine had left a few minutes ago. Ash could see long streams of flames blasting into the air from a few fields over, getting larger and more intense each time. He could only surmise that the two were having another of their contests.

Torrent was still hanging around, gladly taking the opportunity to meet other pokemon. His friend had lost the worst of his temper during his evolution. It was still there, but it took a lot to bring it out. What was left was newfound wisdom, power, and the desire to meet and mingle with other pokemon. It wasn't as though Torrent had had many chances to socialize when he was unable to be out of water, after all. He was just doing his best to make up for it.

Dazed hung in the darkness, always watching Ash protectively. Alakazam had joined her, weary of the excitement. Both of their eyes were constantly glowing, so he assumed they were communicating. They had similar personalities, so Ash wasn't too surprised.

Tangela was excitedly hopping around and making friends with the Corral pokemon that had showed up. He'd eaten his fair share, but had left to make friends once he'd finished. Right now he was happily poking one of the nidorino, who had sat down and looked resigned to Tangela's curious jabs.

Bruiser was wandering around, meeting all of his teammates again. He'd been with the team long enough to know most of them, but they'd all changed while he had been gone. Although it had only been a week or so after Ash had exchanged him for Golduck before they returned to Pallet, big things had occurred in that time. They'd all been changed and Bruiser needed to catch up.

Most of the nidoran herd was running rampant, one of the juveniles skittering underneath the table the humans were sitting at every minute or so. Others were jumping at Tangela, feebly trying to knock him over. He just released one of his vines and tickled them until they ran away or were collected by one of the nidorina, who were doing their best to keep order amongst the herd. They all looked very tired.

Plume was standing with Oak's Dragonite and positively massive, battle-scarred Charizard. Ash had never actually seen it before, but he'd heard of it from his mother and Gary from time to time. Apparently the monster of a fire-type was Oak's starter, comparable in power to his Dragonite. Aside from how ridiculously powerful that Charizard was to even compare to such a powerful dragon-type, it looked just like the tales from centuries ago had seen its kind: Vicious and awe-inspiring.

He'd gotten over his desire for a Charmander. He had a friend that was just as good, better in many ways. Nidoking could never be replaced.

But he would always have a soft spot for the pseudo-dragon. It was just such a powerful battler that he'd always respect it.

Oak's Charizard lived up to its species' reputation. It regarded the celebration with a broad sneer on its snout, exposing long, shining fangs. The flame that burned on its tail was absolutely massive, the gigantic torch constantly burning a bright blue. Thanks to reading Charizard's entry on the pokedex so many times, Ash knew what that meant: Power. Incredible power and strength built up from countless hard battles and harsh training.

Despite its distaste for its surroundings, Charizard seemed to get along fine with Dragonite and Plume. It didn't seem to really mind Plume, at the very least. Dragonite, on the other hand, was downright friendly. Apparently waking it up with a massive explosion had made the dragon-type a bit grumpier than usual.

It suddenly met his eyes. Ash didn't let his gaze waver, causing Charizard to snort a bright stream of white flame. Charizard glanced away at a low rumble from Dragonite.

Ash was pulled away from his observation by his mother's voice. She'd been chatting with Professor Oak constantly, taking breaks only to go get some more food from the kitchen. His mother had tried to fill up Nidoking's bowl, but Ash had gotten her to stand down on that. Nidoking was his friend and his responsibility, as were the rest of the team.

"So, how's the training going?" She asked curiously. "I know you've had some troubles with Bruiser."

"Eh, good enough." Ash said with a shrug. "I still can't help him other than having him fight the rest of the team, but that's not helping him much. He needs someone who actually knows how to fight. Fighting-types are strong, but their real strength is in their technique."

His mother nodded in understanding. Ash was well aware that she knew that. She'd never been a trainer, but she had studied under Professor Oak for years. All of this was basic information anyone studying to become a researcher would know in the first week.

"Have you tried finding a master?" His mother questioned. "If you even knew where to begin it would help you out a lot."

Ash sighed. "I have. There's the Dojo in Saffron. They said I could come by if I ever needed help training a fighting-type."

"No!" Professor Oak said sharply, cutting into the conversation. "They are skilled martial artists, but they leave a lot to be desired when it comes to training. That Dojo has fallen far since it was the Saffron gym."

"I noticed." Ash grinned, recounting his easy victory there. "It wasn't very difficult. I used type advantages, but they should be able to counter that."

Professor Oak nodded. "Indeed. Give me a few days and I'll find you a real trainer for Bruiser. It wouldn't be for very long, but you just need to know the basics. Bruiser can take care of the rest."

"Really?" Ash asked incredulously, having a hard time accepting that Professor Oak would do that for him. He was a busy man. Taking what would probably be quite a bit of time out of his day for a new trainer was surprising. "Thanks!"

"It's no problem, Ash." Oak said, waving his thanks away. "I know you have the potential to go far, and I believe that this person would be a good teacher to help you on your path."

Ash grinned his thanks to the Professor. He had no idea who his teacher would be, but he was excited for it. Professor Oak knew a lot of strong trainers. There was no doubt that he'd get a strong one.

Their conversation turned to other things after that, mostly about things around Pallet and the other Pallet trainers. Although he was interested in talking to his mother and Professor Oak, he found his attention slipping away as he focused on training and felt the fatigue from the day wear upon him.

About two hours later, they went inside. Ash had Dazed teleport his mother home. She'd had a tiring day and he knew that she had work the next day. He walked with the rest of his friends, although Infernus was still nowhere to be found.

Most of the plates and silverware that had been used were collected by Alakazam with a single flicker of her eyes, cleaning the mess up and sending the assorted dishes to the kitchen to be washed in mere seconds.

Before Ash left, he and Professor Oak bid each other goodbye. Ash's mind was still swimming with thoughts about his future training by the time he got home.

He slept on the couch that night. Nidoking was too big to travel up the stairs, although he was still allowed on the ground floor so long as he was careful. His friend curled up into a ball next to the couch as they both drifted to sleep.

Ash stayed up a bit longer. He was able to notice Seeker landing on top of him and huddling in close for warmth, as well as Bruiser sleeping up against a wall and Dazed standing vigil over him.

She was the last thing he heard before he went to sleep.

XX

"Alright, Nidoking, let's do this." Ash said. Nidoking roared and crushed his claws together, showing just how ready he was. The other members of the team were gathered around them in a circle, anxious to see how Nidoking had improved.

Ash wouldn't be trying to teach Nidoking any new moves today or the rest of the time he spent training around Pallet. This was just to get Nidoking used to his new form and the power that came with it. The form of a nidoking was drastically different from that of a nidorino or nidoran, so Nidoking would have to train to get comfortable with his new body.

That would happen later. For now, Ash just wanted to see what kind of strength Nidoking possessed.

Nidoking roared again, shaking the earth. He focused on the massive boulder Ash had pointed out a few minutes ago and walked over to it. While he was still having difficulty using some of his physical attacks like double kick, Nidoking was quite proficient at destroying things.

He pulled back his claw and roared loudly before slamming it into the tall, thin boulder. A deep crack formed where his fist hit. His second punch caused more and more cracks to thread throughout the stone before it finally collapsed, shards of sharp stone bouncing harmlessly off of Nidoking's armor.

Ash blinked. Nidoking had done that without any sort of actual attack. He'd known that his friend would be incredibly strong, but Ash hadn't expected him to be that powerful. Attacks naturally amplified the user's strength, focusing it and intensifying it. He could only imagine how hard Nidoking would hit with any physical moves he taught him.

"See those trees?" He asked, pointing the new targets out. Nidoking nodded and lumbered over to them. "Hit them with your tail."

Nidoking snarled in understanding and turned around. He swept his powerful tail into the densely packed cluster of trees behind him, shattering all with a single blow and sending splinters of wood flying through the area. Ash nodded his thanks to Dazed when she erected a shield of bright blue energy in front of him.

He grinned widely when he realized just how much strength Nidoking possessed. Nidoking had always been strong, but his evolution had put him into a whole new level.

His body had evolved to be the greatest protector and leader of a nidoran herd. His scales were hard and highly resistant to physical attacks and provided resistance against most elemental attacks. His tail could crush and splinter anything it hit. His punches could shatter stone.

All that was left for Ash to test was how much stronger his elemental attacks had become. Ash knew that Nidoking wasn't ready to learn a new move yet, but after seeing his ease in attacking it might be time to test out his old ones.

As Nidoking roared proudly, Ash found a new target for his friend.

"Use ice beam on that rock." Ash commanded, pointing out a very large, spherical stone. It was probably six feet high or so and nearly as large around.

Nidoking reared his head back and charged the ice beam in less than a second. Ash barely had time to see the small, light blue ball of energy form on the tip of Nidoking's horn before the ice beam was released. As usual, three arcs of icy energy were released from the ball, leaving a trail of frosty air in their wake.

What wasn't usual was their intensity. Nidoking had become adept at using ice beam as a nidorino, but no amount of expertise could create the amount of power put into the ice beam. Each of the three beams was brighter and more intense than before his evolution, a shade lighter.

Just one of the arcs of icy cold energy was enough to completely freeze half of the boulder's front over, leaving a thick layer of jagged ice over it. The other two were enough to freeze the rest of the front over, leaving all of the boulder Ash could see caked in the thick ice.

Ash blinked, not expecting that. He'd known that Nidoking increased in strength in every area aside from speed and evasiveness – his reflexes were improved, but the massive weight of his body would keep him from being particularly swift – but he'd only expected a marginal improvement in regards to ice beam and other elemental attacks.

A grin slowly crept onto his face, replacing his earlier shock. "Nidoking, I think you're ready for a real battle."

Nidoking roared and stamped his feet, triangular eyes narrowed eagerly as he waited for Ash to select his opponent.

Ash scanned over his friends critically, trying to figure out which one would be the most even match for Nidoking. Plume was automatically out. Nidoking could just use ice beam or thunderbolt to take her down. If he banned Nidoking from using them, it would just prolong the battle. Plume didn't have the offensive power to take him down anyways.

Infernus was out. He'd do well, but Ash really didn't want to burn down the entire forest. That showdown could be saved for later. He knew that the two were itching to fight each other.

Torrent would have an automatic advantage. Ash would like to avoid that. He wanted to see Nidoking's real capabilities. That cut out Dazed as well. She'd likely be needed to contain the damage anyways.

Bruiser was the only one that could match Nidoking's raw strength, but Ash didn't think that he would be a challenge for Nidoking. The fighting-type just didn't have the skill or experience to defeat Nidoking yet.

That left one option.

"Tangela, you're up." He said with a grin. The grass-type happily bounded over and stood in front of Nidoking, vines out and eyes friendly. Still, Ash could see the determination in his friend's stance. Tangela would do his best to make it a good battle. "Nidoking, no ice beam."

Nidoking growled his understanding and prepared to charge. Tangela bravely stood his ground, vines out and ready to battle.

Ash and the rest of his friends got far away from the battle, Dazed keeping a constant vigil by Ash. She would prevent any of the attacks from causing undue harm. Plume continued to circle over them high in the air, watching the battle with her keen eyes.

"Begin." Ash called out, carefully analyzing their movements. Nidoking had gotten more used to his body, but he was still rusty. His walking was slow and unsteady, causing him to lumber towards Tangela at an easily avoidable pace.

Tangela casually avoided the attack by walking away on his vines. He pulled his spherical body over to a tree when Nidoking grew too close.

Nidoking roared in annoyance and turned to Tangela. He opened his mouth and shot dozens of tiny, poison-filled needles at Tangela. Tangela yanked himself away as fast as he could, but several of the barbs landed on him and injected their poison into his vines.

Tangela gurgled and sent the vines that had been poisoned towards Nidoking, preparing to lash at the powerful poison-type. Nidoking easily slashed the vines off with a swipe of his claws. They weren't sharp, but the force behind them was enough to complete the task.

Of course, by doing that he ruined whatever chance he had of the poison in the vines being funneled into Tangela's body. Nidoking didn't appear to care about that, though. A quick lash from two more of Tangela's extendable vines did almost nothing to the ground-type, but annoyed him enough for the adrenaline running through his system to really pick up.

Nidoking roared furiously and suddenly charged at a surprisingly fast pace towards Tangela, the adrenaline and fighting instincts taking over his body and removing any uncertainties he had with his new form.

Tangela's bright eyes suddenly widened in fear and he did his best to pull himself away. Nidoking roared and fired another poison sting attack at Tangela. They were too close to defend against or dodge, so the majority of the barbs slammed into Tangela and injected their contents into the grass-type.

The grass-type collapsed to the ground, his weakness to poison crippling him as the massive dose was forced into his body. He struggled to pull himself up, but by the time he had Nidoking had slammed into him.

Ash winced at the blow. The sheer force that Nidoking's charge carried behind it sent Tangela flying into a tree, although the hardy grass-type's shell of vines absorbed most of the shock. Still, it slowed Tangela up enough for Nidoking to charge over and pick Tangela up. Tangela struggled and whipped Nidoking with several of his vines, but they failed to actually hurt Nidoking thanks to his thick plates.

Tangela quickly wrapped even more of its vines around Nidoking and began draining his energy, but Nidoking furiously slammed Tangela into a tree. The blow stunned Tangela, but he continued to suck energy from the poison-type.

It all ended when Nidoking fired another burst of poison sting at Tangela. All of the barbs hit and stabbed into Tangela, delivering their dangerous contents into the grass-type's system. Tangela's vines feebly let go of Nidoking, although the grass-type continued to helplessly struggle against his fate.

"That's enough." Ash called out. He was worried that Nidoking would be too battle-crazed to respond to his commands, but those concerns were alleviated when his friend instantly straightened up and stepped back from Tangela's unconscious form.

"You did great, Tangela." Ash murmured to Tangela's pokeball as he recalled his friend. Tangela had put up a good fight, although he was unable to do much to Nidoking's formidable body. In a real battle Tangela would have used status conditions through stun spore and sleep powder before wrapping his vines around Nidoking and draining most of his energy, but he was limited as much as Nidoking had been.

That had been a battle to show off Nidoking's abilities. Tangela knew that and hadn't used stun spore or sleep powder, which were usually important for his battling technique. It would have been much closer had Tangela been able to use his full potential.

Still, Nidoking had shown himself to be quite formidable, even when he hadn't gotten used to battle yet. He was able to shrug off vine whips as though they were nothing, when as a nidorino they would have crippled him. His resistance to Tangela's mega drain was also quite impressive. Tangela's mega drain had done quite a number on all of his other opponents.

But all this told him was that he had a very powerful pokemon on his hands and that he needed to teach him how to move well without being enraged first.

He wanted Nidoking to get a bit more battling experience in before they started working on that, though. In particular, he wanted Nidoking to get experience battling an opponent that had the firepower to penetrate his defenses.

"Infernus, you're up." He grinned.

Infernus' eyes were alit with dark glee as he stepped forward, a light wreathe of bright flame dancing around his body. He and Nidoking stepped forward, and the battle began.

XX

Four days of training later, they were finally finished. For the moment, anyways. Today was the end of this training spree, although certainly not the last.

Once he'd gotten used to his body, Nidoking's only real weaknesses were his inability to maneuver well. He had ranged attacks like thunderbolt and ice beam that were powerful enough to fight off all of Ash's pokemon except for Torrent and was almost undefeatable at close range. Only Infernus had pulled it off, and he had fainted right after from the wounds he had gained.

Dazed and Plume were quite adept at exploiting Nidoking's only apparent weakness. When Plume used tailwind to whip up a windstorm and manipulate the storm to propel her, she was often too fast for Nidoking to fight back against. She didn't have the firepower to actually defeat him – her air slash attack was quite powerful, but all it did was knock Nidoking over – but she could tire him out quite well. He almost always ended up defeating her in the end, though, thanks to a lucky thunderbolt.

Dazed, however, could easily avoid his attacks thanks to teleport. Psychic was enough to badly hurt Nidoking, while psybeam was enough to finish him off. Even if Ash had opted to give Nidoking his TMs – shadow claw and earthquake would greatly expand his ability to attack, but Ash wanted to wait until Nidoking had complete control over his body before giving him such destructive moves – Dazed would have been able to avoid them.

When he wasn't training Nidoking, Ash had worked with the others. Dazed had mastered the multiball technique, so he'd started training her to use teleport in other ways. He knew the destructive potential of earthquake quite well thanks to the videos he'd seen on the pokedex, so he'd figured that learning to avoid that could save Dazed a great deal of pain. So he'd taught her how to teleport just high enough above the ground for the average earthquake to pass under her. He'd have to test it against Nidoking in a few weeks.

Infernus hadn't progressed as much as Ash would have liked. He was advancing by leap and bounds in the battling department thanks to the constant battles against the other pokemon, but he hadn't bothered mastering fire blast. Ash had been too busy with Nidoking and Bruiser to focus on him much, although he'd be correcting that during their next training spree.

Plume had spent most of the time perfecting air slash. She was adept enough with it to slash thick trees in two, and it seemed to be shaping up to be her favorite move. It was far more precise than gust or whirlwind and was much more focused. Ash was going to start trying to teach her hurricane soon. That would was the most powerful technique a pidgeot could learn, and he thought that Plume was ready. Of course, it would also be an opportunity to spend more time with her and try to develop strategies that would work against rock-types and heavier opponents.

Tangela was obviously close to evolution. His vines were growing longer and longer, and his attacks were growing much more powerful. It was only a matter of time before he evolved into a tangrowth. Ash couldn't wait. Tangrowth were amongst the most powerful of grass-types. They were essentially tangela, but given much more power in their attacks.

Torrent had been rather bored. Aside from battles with Nidoking, which the dragon-type almost always won unless Nidoking was particularly ferocious, he didn't have much to do aside from practicing dragon pulse over and over again. Ash was going to have to work on some more techniques for Torrent.

Bruiser had the same problems as he had before. Ash had continued his attempts to teach Bruiser, but the fighting-type just couldn't learn from him. It was rather frustrating for the both of them. His friend had so much potential waiting to be unleashed, but he couldn't utilize it.

There was nothing for Ash to do now. He was about to head up to the Professor's lab right now.

Last night had been a hard one. He could only have six teammates with him, so he had to drop one of them temporarily for Bruiser.

Even though he didn't like it, he had to ask his friends if any would volunteer. It ended up being Plume, although he didn't like that. Ash didn't want his friend to feel any less valuable than the other members of his team. He hated leaving her behind.

No matter how much he had tried to get her to stay with him, though, she wouldn't relent. Plume had just cooed at his protests and lightly pecked him on the head.

He'd finally given up, although he made sure to protest just a little more. She still wouldn't hear of it.

Ash sighed at the memory. Plume was currently flying above the house, basking in the morning sun. A flock of pidgey and a few pidgeotto had joined her, shrieking and chirping in unison with the powerful flying-type.

But for now it was time to say his goodbyes.

"Seeker, be good." He said with a grin, lightly ruffling her soft fur. Seeker hissed indignantly at him and fluttered onto his shoulder. She chattered happily into his air, giving her own goodbyes. "I know, I know. You're perfect."

Ash leaned into Seeker and whispered to her conspiratorially. "Try to keep Plume company. I know she'll be fine, but I think you two could learn a lot from each other."

Seeker chattered understandingly and fluttered over to Bruiser, who was standing next to Ash. He grunted happily as the tiny zubat landed on his shoulder and began hissing at him. Bruiser grunted what Ash recognized as a laugh and lightly tapped her on the forehead with his finger.

The zubat chattered happily at the both of them before flying up onto one of the beams crossed over the ceiling. She hung there as Ash's mother walked up, a cheery smile on her face. It wavered when she looked at Ash, but it came back in full force a few moments later.

"Be careful, sweetie." She said to him quietly as she wrapped him up in a hug. Ash gasped as the air was crushed out of his lungs before returning the hug.

"I'll be fine." He wheezed back. "I'll be back before you know it."

His mother smiled sadly at him. "I know, I know. You're a strong trainer now. But a mother has to worry."

Ash didn't say anything back, instead opting to respond with a smile. His mother returned it before standing up.

"Well, you'd best get going." She said cheerfully. "I know Professor Oak is busy. Good luck!"

"Thank you." He said with another nod. Ash returned Bruiser before he stepped out of the door.

The last words he heard from his mother were "And remember to change your –"

He was out before she could complete the sentence.

XX

"Ah, hello, Ash. Come right in." Professor Oak said in a friendly manner. Ash nodded at him and gladly walked into the house. He wanted to get going as soon as he could.

Professor Oak guided him to the dining room, where they both took a seat. Oak sipped at a steaming cup of coffee, which was all that was left of his breakfast. Ash could see that the rest had already been finished, leaving nothing but crumbs on the two plates.

"Well, I suppose you're here about your teacher?" Oak questioned as he took a quick drink of coffee. Ash nodded. "Then you'll be pleased to know that I found you one. I believe that you'll be quite impressed by him when you meet him."

"Who is he?" Ash questioned curiously, leaning forward in interest. He had been thinking about the mysterious teacher ever since the night of Nidoking's evolution. Professor Oak had access to an almost unlimited amount of trainers, quite a few of whom were quite strong.

"I can't tell you his name." Oak said with a shake of his head. "It was part of the deal I worked out with him. What I can tell you is where he's training right now."

Ash frowned. That seemed odd. "Where is he?"

"Mt. Hideaway." Oak replied promptly. He placed the drained cup of coffee on one of his plates before continuing. "It's just a few days away from Pallet Town, so it's not too hard a journey. Your teacher trains there regularly, and he'll be there for another month. That gives you plenty of time to arrive and train."

"Isn't that the place where the gigantic onix live?" Ash questioned. The name seemed familiar, and he had quickly remembered the local tales and legends about the mountain. He could also recall seeing it mentioned as a footnote in the onix entry of his pokedex.

Professor Oak smiled. "Indeed. I believe he's searching for one of the onix. I'd be interested in studying it, if he succeeds, anyways."

"Where is he on the mountain?" Ash asked, knowing just how hard it could be to find something in that large an area. His experience trying to find the Cinnabar gym attested to that.

"That's part of the test." Oak replied with a wry grin. "He's powerful and has his pick of students. Those that are worthy will find him. My recommendation was only enough for him to give me his location."

Ash sighed. That made sense, and made him wonder just who this trainer was. He must be incredibly strong if he could pose tests like these. If they were really so powerful, he might have heard about them before.

"You have a PokeNav, correct?" Oak said. Ash nodded. "Good. Hand it over, please. I'll put the location of Mt. Hideaway into the map."

Oak held his open hand out and waited for Ash to hand him the small device. When Ash did, the Professor quickly opened the PokeNav and input the necessary coordinates. Now a small waypoint would be on the PokeNav's map whenever Ash looked for it.

"Thanks a lot, Professor." Ash said gratefully as he took his PokeNav back and clipped it back onto his belt. "I won't disappoint."

Oak smiled with a strange expression. It flitted off of his face too fast for Ash to read it, but it made him curious. "I'm sure you won't, Ash. You never have."

Ash smiled faintly and tipped his hat to Professor Oak. "Well, I guess I should be going. Thanks for everything, Professor."

The Professor nodded and waved him away. "Good luck!" He called as Ash went out the front door. Ash nodded back one last time before leaving the laboratory.

He was excited as he stepped outside of the lab and into the warm morning sun. It had been weeks since he last travelled on land, venturing through the great forests of Kanto with only himself and his pokemon.

Ash took a moment to check the location of Mt. Hideaway on his PokeNav. It was about sixty miles away to the east and had a bit of rugged territory around it, but most of the areas he would be travelling through were made up of the same gentle landscape that entombed Pallet Town.

The trainer traced the worn dirt path that would take him to Mt. Hideaway. He shifted his pack to a more comfortable position before starting on his newest journey, pausing only to release Nidoking. Nidoking needed the practice walking.

Nidoking grunted deeply and gave Ash a friendly nod.

Ash grinned back and nodded to his friend. "We're setting off again. Are you ready?"

Nidoking growled happily and crushed his claws together, producing a small shockwave of air. Ash shut his eyes quickly but kept his excited grin on his face. It would probably go away when the realities of travelling caught up with him again, but right now he was just too happy to care.

"Alright, then. Let's go."

With that they set off, preparing to grow ever stronger.

XX

The first day passed by quickly. It was boring since there were few trainers to fight and the wild pokemon were too terrified by Nidoking to try anything, but it let them make great time. Even Nidoking was tired by the end of the day, although it was more so because his species wasn't meant to travel long distances than any real physical exhaustion.

The second day had been brutal. Aside from being a bit rusty in all of the chores he had to perform – cleaning up the fire pit he'd made, making sure to pack every artificial thing he had pulled out was securely contained or put into his bag, and a host of other minor things – he was also horribly sore. It wasn't as bad as the second day of his pokemon journey, but the muscles that had been made hard and durable thanks to the long days of walking and running had atrophied a bit while he'd been on boats and training around Pallet.

Aside from that the sun had been brutal that day, baking almost everything. If it weren't for his cap he would have been badly sunburned. A few fearow that lived in the area had also tried to antagonize him, squawking and cawing at him as he passed through their territory. Nidoking quickly ran them off with a few ice beams, but it was still rather annoying.

In other words, travelling wouldn't be quite as fun as he remembered until he got used to it the harder parts of it. Perhaps it would have been better if there were other trainers, but the routes were mostly empty thanks to the aggressive fearow that patrolled the area. Ash figured that the League would be sending someone in to set them straight soon enough. It wasn't close enough to Pallet for Professor Oak to intervene.

But right now, during the second night, he'd just entered a large town, consisting of about six thousand. It was named Dandra Town and was one of the larger settlements in Kanto, although far out of the way and not prone to exposure to the outside world because of it.

Ash had heard of Dandra Town every now and then, but knew it wasn't really important aside from its size. It was miles away from any real center of civilization – its only real neighbor was Pallet, and thanks to the difficult-to-navigate land, large cliffs, and dense population of aggressive spearow and fearow it had few visitors.

Judging from the solar panels and windmills dotting the area, several small factories and several gigantic farms that he'd spotted as he neared the town, they didn't need to be. Dandra town looked to be a self-contained society. All it really needed was trainers to keep the local pokemon at bay.

There were only a few locals about at this time of night, but they all seemed rather friendly. He was pointed to one of the local Pokemon Centers quickly and wished a good night. Ash happily returned the farewell. Dandra's citizens were a welcome change from Saffron's.

The streets were clean and organized. Most were neat, standard fare of a small town like this, just on the cusp of becoming a more meaningful settlement. Small shops lined the long streets, most rather unassuming. A lone Poke Mart was visible, slightly more ostentatious than its neighbors but rather diminished compared to what Ash was used to.

He quickly worked his way through the streets and found the Pokemon Center. It was one of the largest buildings in town, not surprising considering that trainers were amongst the few that would make the journey to the town. They probably gave the town much of its revenue.

Ash didn't slow down as he pushed the door to the Pokemon Center open. He was tired, dirty, and stank of dried sweat. All he wanted was a shower and a bed. His sleeping mat wasn't as bad as the alternatives some trainers used, but it still didn't compare to an actual bed.

He gave a weary, albeit friendly, smile to Nurse Joy as he walked up to the counter. It was returned with the standard cheerfulness Nurse Joys exhibited, although she looked a little bit concerned at the exhaustion he displayed.

"Are you alright?" She worried.

"I'm fine." Ash said tiredly, giving her an exhausted grin. "I just started travelling again. It's a bit exhausting, is all."

Nurse Joy nodded her understanding. "Of course. We've had a fair few trainers come in lately with that same problem. It's about the time that they start taking breaks in their journeys. Anyways," she said, bringing herself back on track, "how can I help you?"

"I just need a room." He told her politely. She nodded and fumbled with a drawer on the counter before withdrawing a key with a small tag with his room number attached. "Here you are. I hope you sleep well!"

"Thanks." Ash replied as he took the key. He checked the room number. 122. He frowned at that. That meant he was on the very last room of the first floor. Most Pokemon Centers this size had twenty-five rooms on a floor. "Why are so many rooms filled?"

Nurse Joy smiled and pulled out a small flier. She handed it over to Ash, who took a curious glance at it.

"_Annual Dandra Town Pokemon Tournament!"_It proclaimed in large, bold letters. Underneath the announcement it read, _"Come and battle with fierce trainers and compete for fabulous prizes! See who is the strongest. More information available at the Tournament. Dates: August 14, August 15."_

Ash perked up at the mention of the tournament. Even if it didn't give out the best prizes, it would still be a good way to test out his skill. He was good, but he wanted to see just where he fell amongst the average trainer.

"Where do I register for this?" He asked eagerly, clenching the paper until it bent out of shape.

Nurse Joy laughed. "Just leave me your name and I'll sign you up. You came at a lucky time. The Tournament's tomorrow. If you'd gotten here just a day later, you would have just had to watch."

Ash nodded, a curious glint in his eye. "This is an annual thing, right? What kind of prizes are there?"

"Hmm." Nurse Joy said, tapping her chin and leaning forward onto the counter. "Usually there are cash prizes for the Top Four, but the Top Two usually get an additional prize. Last year the first place winner got a fire stone and water stone."

His eyes lit up. He couldn't really use either of those, but evolutionary stones were expensive. If he never ended up with a pokemon that could use one of the two to evolve, he could just sell them for a good bit of cash. It wasn't as if he'd need the money thanks to the huge sum Lance had given him, but at the very least he'd be able to help another trainer.

"There's a cash fee to enter." Nurse Joy warned. "Three hundred dollars."

Ash shrugged that off. That would have been a decent sum before, but he had all the money he needed right now. It was well worth the price to test his strength against other trainers. "Fair enough. Do you need my trainer card?"

"Please."

He handed it over. Nurse Joy quickly ran it through a scanner, although she looked quite surprised at the information that came up.

"Seven badges?" She said with a stunned look on her face. "My, my. This year will have quite the fierce competition. And access to full restores? What did you do for the League to get that privilege?"

"This and that." Ash said with a grin, never tiring of the reactions he got when people saw how much he'd accomplished.

Nurse Joy shook her head exasperatedly. "Never mind. I don't think I want to know. Anyways," she said as she passed his trainer card back to him, "you're all signed up. The Tournament is held at one o' clock, so make sure you're ready. I'll be taking all of you to the arena."

"Thank you." Ash said politely. "Good night, Nurse Joy."

She smiled cheerfully at him. "Good night, Mr. Ketchum. I look forward to seeing your performance tomorrow."

Ash smiled and tipped his hat before he left to find his room. He needed to take a shower and sleep. It looked like he would have a long two days in front of him.

XX

He was groggy when he woke up. His room was filled to the brim with sleeping pokemon. It was much more cramped then he was used to, thanks to many of his friends' evolutions. Nidoking took up a good chunk of the room on his own. His friend had been annoyed when he realized that he couldn't sleep on the bed with Ash anymore, but he'd managed to assuage his instincts by curling up into a surprisingly small ball next to the bed.

Tangela was at the foot of the bed, vines wrapped around his spherical body in a dense shell. They twitched every now and then, mostly when Tangela happily gurgled in his sleep. Ash smiled at his friend before looking around.

Dazed was, as usual, standing in the darkened corner and staring straight at him. She gave him a succinct nod and returned to watching him protectively.

Bruiser was sleeping leaned up against the wall, eyes completely shut and arms crossed. His thick, muscular chest rose and fell as he breathed slowly and deeply.

Torrent was still in his pokeball, as was Infernus. While Torrent had no problem being outside of his pokeball for extended periods of time, he had difficulties sleeping. Besides, the roof was barely high enough for him to comfortable levitate.

The reasons Infernus was in his pokeball were rather obvious.

Ash shook his head and yawned before standing up and carefully getting off of his bed, making sure to avoid waking any of his friends. He quickly put on his clothes, which were lying in a messy pile on the floor. They were a little wrinkled, but he was sure that the other trainers would be just as messy.

Before he went into the small bathroom to brush his teeth and get his familiar morning routine in, Ash made sure to put on his hat. He couldn't forget the hat.

The rest of his morning routine went by quickly. He woke the rest of his friends, although he let Tangela stay out of his pokeball. If there were as many trainers out there as he expected, he figured Tangela would be the best choice. The grass-type was much friendlier than most of the team and would enjoy making friends with the other pokemon.

Normally he had Dazed as his follower, since she was inconspicuous and observant, but he knew she wouldn't want to be around so many people. It would make her more paranoid than usual, although it would be disguised under her vacant stare. Ash had learnt long ago how to read past that, though.

Tangela gurgled happily and waved some of his vines around as he waddled after Ash. Ash held the door open for his friend as he walked into the small hallway. One other trainer was walking down the hallway, a short teen with short, spiky blond hair and cargo pants followed by an elegant ninetails. He didn't give Ash a passing glance as he smoothly walked by.

Ash shrugged it off and continued on his way. He entered the Pokemon Center's atrium just a few seconds after the blond trainer had shoved his way in.

He paused in surprise when he saw just how many trainers were in the atrium. He'd known that there were twenty, but it was odd seeing so many trainers in one place outside of one of the great cities. The room was practically filled to the brim with them.

There were girls and boys, teens and adults. Every different kind of person was accounted for. But they all had one thing in common: they were here to win.

Ash took a moment to check out the pokemon waiting with their trainers. There were quite a few that were somewhat uncommon in Kanto, but he saw even more native species. It certainly wouldn't be an easy tournament to win. Judging from the variety he saw, he couldn't just rely on one of his friends to dominate the competition. He'd have to be a bit more creative than that.

He pulled out his PokeNav and checked the time. They still had two hours until they would be called to the tournament. That would be plenty of time for him to brief his time on what was going on.

But first he needed to get breakfast. He was starving.

XX

Ash sat on a large, mossy boulder that overlooked the rest of the tiny clearing where his team sat. They were each eating their own little bit of pokemon food, although Ash had gotten some of the Pokemon Center's normal food to feed them. His friends deserved it.

As they ate, Ash started talking. Dazed was the only one really watching, but judging from the tiny nods and twitching ears of his friends, they were all listening.

"So, guys, we're going to be in a tournament today." He began. That got his friends' attention. Nidoking, Infernus, Torrent, and Bruiser seemed particularly enthusiastic. They liked fighting the most, and tournaments generally brought strong opponents. "I think there are going to be around twenty opponents, so the competition might get tough at the end. But I know we can win."

Nidoking growled happily and crushed his claws together, body language that Ash was beginning to recognize as anticipation and excitement. The rest of his friends had similar reactions, even Tangela. Tangela might not be very aggressive, but he did love testing out his strength. Most pokemon did, from what Ash had seen.

"I'm going to try and use all of you at least once." Ash announced as he lazily leaned back on his forearms. The rough stone scratched at his exposed skin a bit, but the moss helped to soothe the minor damage it did. "You've all been working hard lately, and all of you deserve it."

His friends seemed happy at that. Ash realized that he had neglected Bruiser over the past few weeks and he really didn't want to make that mistake ever again. It still put a bad taste in his mouth just thinking about how he practically abandoned one of his friends.

"We need to get back in about an hour." Ash said, counting off the amount of time he'd already eaten up. "So, let's get to it. We need to come up with some basic strategies. There's a lot of variety in the tournament."

The pokemon in front of him nodded and listened attentively as he began speaking. They wanted to win this just as much as he did, more, most likely.

Ash grinned as he started addressing each member of the team. He didn't know if he would win this, but he knew that he would at least make his opponents fight bitterly for their victory.

XX

"Everyone, line up!" Nurse Joy called out in a loud, commanding tone that brooked no argument and demanded compliance. All of the twenty two trainers in the Pokemon Center's atrium quickly followed her instructions, eager to begin the battles.

"Alright, here are the rules for the Tournament!" She shouted, making sure to be heard over the murmurs and whispers of the group. Quite a few seemed to have made friends with one another, or at least acquaintances. Since he had only come back to the Pokemon Center five minutes ago, Ash wasn't one of them. "All of you have been grouped into pairs. Once we reach the stadium, a monitor will display the teams. You will be battling other teams until only two teams remain. Then, both partners will battle one another to determine the finalists. The rules are simple: No items or enhancers such as X products are allowed, any form of cheating will get you disqualified, and you must stop when the other pokemon are unconscious or their trainers forfeit."

Ash listened curiously. He wasn't sure how he felt about working with a partner. It might be nice, but he didn't want to have to carry them both if his partner was a weak trainer. That could ruin his chances of victory.

On the other hand, if he had a decent partner they would be able to overpower the enemy quite easily. It might pose problems when he had to battle them, but at least the majority of the tournament would be easy.

"You'd do well to work together." Nurse Joy warned. "You'll be battling together and need to depend on one another. Any discord will weaken your efforts."

He nodded slowly, barely noticing it. Many of the other trainers had similar reactions. Ash glanced at them all closely, taking each of them in. Any of them could be his partner, and he would like to at least recognize them.

Nurse Joy suddenly broke into a large, cheerful smile. "Well, that's it! A few more things will be explained at the tournament, but that's the gist of things. Let's go!"

With that, Nurse Joy and her small, energetic oddish lead them out of the Pokemon Center and to Dandra Stadium. Ash hung in the back, watching the rest of his competitors carefully and trying to analyze them the best he could.

XX

"Welcome, ladies and gentleman of Dandra Town, to the sixth annual Dandra Town Pokemon Tournament!" An announcer boomed over the intercom. The large crowd – probably a thousand people or so, Ash couldn't judge very well – cheered raucously in response. "Thank you, thank you! Now, let's take a look at our competitors. I've been told we have a good group this year!"

Ash gave a faux smile as he walked into the center of the stadium with the rest of the trainers. His nervous expression betrayed the anxiety he felt at being in front of so many people. This stadium only held about a thousand people and he was feeling distinctly uncomfortable. He could only imagine what being in front of tens of thousands of people at the Conference would feel like.

Nurse Joy directed them into a straight line, whispering their instructions to them as she passed by and making sure to give the nervous trainers friendly, encouraging smiles.

"Step forward when your name is called." She whispered to Ash as she passed by, just loud enough to be heard over the roar of the crowd. Ash gave a shaky smile to her, feeling a little better as she continued. "Don't worry, you'll do fine. You'll get used to the crowd in no time."

And then she was gone. Ash glanced after her, but glanced up towards the announcer's box when they began shouting into their microphone. He winced at the noise. The only loud noises he usually heard were explosions and the clash of battle. The constant chanting of the crowd and booming of the announcer felt foreign.

He edited out the names the announcer called out until it reached his own.

"Ash Ketchum, please step forward!" The announcer shouted excitedly, keeping the same boisterous tone he had for the other competitors. Ash adopted a nervous smile, shifting away from his usual frown, and hesitantly waved to the crowd like the other competitors had done.

They shouted and cheered in response, the cacophony assaulting him from all directions.

He was glad when the announcer moved on and called the next competitor out. Ash didn't like being the center of attention for a huge audience like this. That made him frown. He'd have to get over that before the Conference. It would be no good if he wasted all of his hard work by being uncomfortable and freezing up during a battle.

Ash just stood there, a small frown on his face as he thought. He wasn't snapped back to reality until the huge monitor screen underneath the announcer's box suddenly flickered on, showing a massive set of brackets for the tournament. On the very ends of each bracket two names and a picture appeared, showing who their partners would be.

While he quickly found his picture and that of his partner, a teenage girl with long brown hair and blue eyes, he wasn't able to read the names very well. The font was just a bit too small.

"Trainers!" The announcer roared. "I will call out your name and that of your partner. Step out of the line when your name is called and pair up. Further instructions will be given out when everyone has their partner."

Once again, Ash blanked out until he heard his name called out. He snapped back into focus and stepped forward, putting a strained smile onto his face again as the crowd roared for him.

"Ash Ketchum and Jaimie Sezare, please step forward!" The announcer called out excitedly. Ash glanced to his left and saw that his partner had stepped out of the line the same time he had. It looked like there were only three teams left to pair up.

Ash walked over to her quietly, trying to ignore the crowds' gaze and calls. She offered him a friendly wave as he walked over, which he returned with a tight nod. They both walked over to the box that the other teams had entered after being paired up. Most of the trainers were giving each other distrustful glares, fierce and competitive now that they had been differentiated.

"Hi, I'm Jamie!" The girl said in a friendly manner, offering him a hand to shake. Ash took it and used the opportunity to glance over the girl. Jamie looked like a rather experienced trainer. She was fair-skinned, but had a slight tan and enough scars and scrapes to show that she'd travelled a while. Her worn shorts and faded shirt only added to that assessment.

"Ash." He returned. "How long have you been a trainer?"

She adjusted her small, red-framed glasses before she answered. "Four years. How about you?"

"…Four and a half months." He replied, a little embarrassed. Ash knew he was strong, but he knew that most trainers his age weren't, whether it was due to lack of commitment, laziness, or being untalented.

Jaimie didn't seem too bothered, although she frowned a bit. "Huh. How many badges have you got? We can discuss our pokemon later."

"Seven." He said firmly. "I have the Volcano badge and Marsh badge. You don't need to worry about pulling any slack."

"Really?" She asked bemusedly, staring at him from behind her glasses. "I didn't even know there was still a gym in Cinnabar. And how'd you beat Sabrina? I tried her and she tore me apart with her Mr. Mime."

Ash grinned. "It's just a matter of knowing where to look." He said mysteriously. "As for Sabrina, it's just skill."

Jaimie whistled, barely audible over the din of the crowd. "Wow. I have nothing to be worried about then. We can talk strategy later. The announcer's about to come back on."

He nodded and returned his gave to the monitor, which had just shifted from the brackets to a man's face. The man's face was narrow and thin, but not disturbingly so. Ash assumed it was the announcer, an assumption that was validated when the man's lips began moving in conjunction with the audio system.

"I have several announcements to make before we allow the trainers to begin strategizing and working with their partners." He announced grandly, waving his hands in the air for dramatic effect. "First off, the prizes."

The announcer grinned and let the clamor of the crowd die down before continuing. "We have a few more sponsors and a few more competitors than last year, so we have better prizes. Third and fourth place will receive one thousand dollars and five Silph Co. great balls! Second place will receive two thousand dollars and two ultra balls!"

Ash watched intently as the announcer leaned into the camera conspiratorially. He wasn't too impressed with the prizes so far, but he didn't care that much. That wasn't why he'd joined the tournament.

"But we have a very special prize for the first place winner." The announcer grinned. He moved off of the screen for a moment and returned with a small pack. He removed a large, round black object from the bag. Ash's eyes widened when he recognized the sight of a pokemon egg. "Thanks to the kind donation of a local breeder, our first place winner will receive this egg. He wouldn't tell us what it was, but we imagine that it is going to be quite the surprise!"

That determined it. Ash wouldn't just be putting up a great fight, he would be winning this competition. There were similar determined expressions on some of the other trainers, and for good reason. Pokemon eggs weren't exactly common. Anyone could buy them from a breeder, but uncommon pokemon could be extremely expensive and unavailable to the common trainer.

Ash might have plenty of money, but he didn't really want to buy a member of his team. That ruined the whole point of training to him. It was supposed to be an adventure, one where you earned your rewards and companions. He didn't really mind if people bought pokemon from breeders, but it just wasn't for him.

But earning them? That was fair game.

The announcer was suddenly handed a piece of paper from outside of the monitor's screen. He skimmed over it briefly before a wide grin spread over his face.

"I have more news!" He shouted dramatically. The crowd quieted and grew tense. "This tournament only accepts twenty competitors! Right now we have twenty-two. As a result, we are picking two random teams to battle each other for entry into the tournament!"

Ash frowned. He really hoped that he wasn't picked. That would weaken at least some of his friends early on, which might prove dangerous to his future battles in the tournament. Additionally it would allow some of the other trainers to get a feel for his skill level and style.

The tension in the air was palpable as another sheet of paper was handed to the announcer. He read over it once before announcing the unlucky competitors that would have to battle each other.

"Here are the trainers that will be battling for entry." The announcer said, stating the obvious. Every trainer listened intently, privately hoping that they weren't chosen. "Raymonds and Fennex, step forward. James and Minors, step forward."

Raymonds and Fennex stepped out of the box. One had short, spiky hair and a black, no-sleeved shirt. He had a slight grin on his face, apparently not taking this seriously. The other had dark blond hair held out of his eyes by a pair of goggles. His face was empty, clearly not pleased with being picked out.

James and Minors stepped out a moment later. One had long brown hair and glasses. The other looked as though he were too young to have a trainers license. Both were rather nervous, although the older of the two had a faraway look on his face.

"Trainers, your battle will commence in fifteen minutes!" The man in the monitor shouted to them. "Use your time to prepare a strategy. Your future in this tournament depends on it. For the rest of you, follow Nurse Joy. She will take you to rooms where you can prepare yourselves. The preliminary battles begin in one hour."

Both of the unlucky teams were guided to opposite ends of the field by a tired looking official. They were huddled together and hurriedly discussing their tactics by the time Nurse Joy walked over to the competitors in their box, a cheerful smile on her face.

"Follow me!" She chirped. "You need all the time you can get before you battle."

With that the remaining competitors followed her out of the bright, sun-baked stadium, sticking close to their partners and sending suspicious glances at the others.

Ash hung in the back with Jaimie. He didn't care much about getting competitive with the other trainers. He was going to win this. Now was just a chance to get a feel for the others.

XX

"Here's your room!" Nurse Joy said to Ash and Jaimie. She opened the door for them and ushered the two in. They were the last pair to be shown their rooms, but it had only taken three or four minutes away from them.

Ash nodded his thanks before walking in. He glanced it over. It was bare and boring. The only furnishings was a small, round table and several chairs pulled up to it. That was perfectly fine by him. It minimized distractions.

He took a seat. Jaimie followed suit a moment later. They both looked at each other awkwardly for a moment, not really sure where to start. It ended up being the older member of the pair that broke the silence.

"So, what pokemon do you have?" She began, raising her hand and putting a finger up as she listed off her own. "I've got a Venusaur, Kadabra, Charmeleon, Dragonair, Graveler, and Starmie."

The team was well-rounded and held a few of the more common pokemon Kanto trainers used, but Ash started at the mention of a dragonair. All dragon-types were fantastically rare. Dratini and their line were amongst the rarest.

"How did you get a dragonair?" He asked, stunned.

"By spending two months straight in the Safari Zone and getting really, really lucky." She said, scratching the back of her neck embarrassedly. "I spent almost all of my money, but I ended up finding a dratini behind a waterfall. The rest is history."

He nodded. It was plausible. Dragonair were known to nest in the Safari Zone, even if they were incredibly rare. Still, to spend two months of his life in one place in search of one pokemon…it was unthinkable.

Ash shook himself out of his thoughts and answered her original question. "A Nidoking, Kingdra, Hypno, Magmar, Machoke, and Tangela."

Jaimie grinned. "You've got your own dragon? Awesome! No wonder you beat Sabrina."

He nodded stiffly in reply, not bothering to mention that it was Dazed that had really won the battle against Sabrina. It wasn't particularly relevant to the conversation.

"We need to make sure our choices complement each other's." He said, speaking up. Jaimie listened attentively, nodding as he spoke. "So, I'll send out my pokemon first and then you send yours out. Hopefully we'll be second every time…"

And so started a forty-five minute long discussion on strategy. They made tactics for each of the potential pairs of pokemon on the battlefield, even the ones that likely wouldn't happen, such as Charmeleon and Infernus.

Ash didn't give her his full capabilities and neither did she. With teams as powerful as theirs, it was likely that they would end up battling each other eventually. He wasn't about to give her any information that she didn't need to know for them to work well together.

Even if he didn't trust her with everything, he did acknowledge that he liked her. She was friendly enough and was easy to get along with. That could only be a boon on the battlefield.

He was jerked from his thoughts by a knock on the door. Ash glanced over to it as Nurse Joy's head poked inside. "The first battle's starting. Come with me."

Both of them stood up and left with Nurse Joy, waiting until the rest of the line of trainers had passed before joining in. Ash felt just the barest hint of nervousness as Nurse Joy lead them out to the large battlefield.

Ash blinked as the hot sun crashed down on him, glad that his hat shaded his eyes from the worst of the light. He glanced around at the roaring crowd, who were chanting and screaming in excitement. It just made him feel nervous.

"And here are our competitors, folks!" The announcer roared as the trainers walked onto the field. "Twenty strong, fierce battlers just waiting to see who's the strongest. All are strong, but only one will emerge as our victor!"

His fists clenched in determination. That victor would be him, no matter what. The other trainers had similar expressions and reactions.

"First up, Ash Ketchum and Jaimie Sezare versus Harlon Smith and Dan White. Competitors, take your places!"

Nurse Joy pointed him and his partner to the competitors' box nearest to the entrance. She sent Harlon Smith – a tall teen with brown hair and fierce hazel eyes – and Dan White – a trainer of similar age but much shorter – over to the opposite side of the stadium.

Ash and Jaimie stood side-by-side as they walked up into the box, elevated about ten feet over the field with an open view. He clenched his fists nervously as he felt the eyes of hundreds gaze upon him, judging and analyzing him.

"Is this the first time you've been in front of so many people?" Jaimie asked curiously as she leaned onto the railing, smiling and sending friendly waves to the spectators, much to their delight.

Ash nodded. "I've battled in front of a few hundred people before, but nothing like this."

She hummed understandingly. "Don't worry about this. You'll be fine. Just focus on the battle. The crowd doesn't matter."

He smiled at her thankfully and put a hand on his belt. The other trainers had arrived and climbed up their box. Now the announcer had begun to announce the rules.

"This match will be two-on-two for each trainer!" He said, amplified voice booming and echoing throughout the arena. "Pokemon are considered disqualified when they are recalled by their trainer or are knocked unconscious. The losers of this match will be knocked out of the tournament. Smith and White will send out their pokemon first. Now…let the battle begin!"

White and Smith send out their pokemon almost immediately. White sent out a massive marowak, which wielded two large, thick bone clubs. It wasn't uncommon for marowak to adapt to using two bones, but it was something to watch out for in any case. Smith released a nidorina. She slunk over to Marowak's side, prepared to defend the larger pokemon at any cost.

Ash frowned as his mind raced over the possibilities. This match would be made very short with Torrent, but he and Jaimie wanted to keep their dragon-types hidden until they were truly needed. Nidoking didn't need to be worked out yet, and Infernus would be needed later. Dazed would be the best option since she could attack at a distance and avoid their close-range attacks.

When she was released, Dazed met her opponents with an impassive stare, not looking very impressed. Ash hid a grin at that. Jaimie quickly followed suit with her Starmie, which opened its appearance with a loud screech.

The moment Starmie appeared, Nidorina and Marowak suddenly opened up with an ice beam, showing that they'd been exposed to TMs. That meant he'd have to be careful about them. It was just an opening move, meant to distract Dazed and Starmie from the sudden charge both of the opposing pokemon made.

Dazed's eyes flickered a bright blue as a psychic wall of shimmering energy materialized in front of her and Starmie, easily blocking both of the weak ice beams.

"Wave, water gun!" Jaimie shouted. Starmie – or Wave, Ash supposed – screeched again as its back limbs quickly spun, releasing a spiral of water from the tip of its uppermost limb. The jet of high-powered water flashed towards the charging Marowak, which deftly dodged the water gun as it continued its sprint.

As it neared, it suddenly shifted directions towards Dazed. Marowak cried out furiously as it suddenly gained momentum and leapt at Dazed, who stared at the rapidly approaching Marowak with an unimpressed expression.

"Psybeam." He ordered. Dazed's eyes flashed as an intense beam of rainbow light shot out and struck the approaching Marowak in the chest. The ground-type roared angrily as it was sent to the ground, quickly leaping up at the urging of its trainer and approaching again.

"Psychic." Ash said, no longer paying attention to Nidorina. He could see her out of the corner of his eye, leaping and forcing Starmie on the defensive. Ash questioned Smith's intelligence at sending a poison-type onto the field against two psychic-types, but didn't really care. Marowak was his main concern.

Dazed's eyes burned as she sent a wave of telekinetic force towards Marowak as it charged towards her. Marowak showed incredible dexterity and skill by rolling out of the way seamlessly, elegantly regaining its footing before leaping at Dazed again, too close for her to dodge.

So Marowak and White were rather confused when its clubs struck nothing but air. Marowak looked around confusedly, still a little blinded by the flash of light that illuminated the area. It didn't take much longer before an incredibly powerful psybeam slammed into its back and sent it crashing forward.

Marowak snarled and began to follow the shouted commands of its trainer. It reared back and suddenly breathed a stream of flame onto one of its bones before covering the immediate area with it, shrouding the dirt and sand in a cloud of fire. Ash saw the bright blue flash of an ice beam before Dazed swept the cloud of flame out of the air with a psychic.

Dazed teleported again as Marowak fired an ice beam at her. Ash noted that one of its bones was glowing white-hot while the other had been covered in a layer of ice. It wouldn't really simulate the effects of a fire-type attack or ice-type attack, but the burning bone would hurt if it hit anything. The icy bone would be more for discomfort than anything else.

Marowak suddenly found Dazed in the corner of its eye and slammed one of its clubs into the ground. Chunks of earth, glowing in a dull blue outline, rose from the plain battlefield and shot outwards in all directions.

His friend easily caught the chunks and held them in midair with her telekinesis before sending them back at Marowak, who had charged at her the moment she broke her focus to block the attack. It casually batted the hurled chunks of earth out of the way with its ice bone and leapt at her.

"End this." Ash ordered, tired of Marowak's game. Dazed happily obliged, catching Marowak in mid-leap and keeping it frozen in a thin, surging blue aura. Marowak visibly struggled, showing incredible strength and willpower as it managed to actually move through the psychic.

Its struggles ended as Dazed concentrated immense amounts of force onto its body from all directions, instantly knocking it out. Dazed dropped it to the ground and allowed White to call it back, Marowak vanishing into a bright scarlet light.

While White prepared to release his last pokemon, Ash decided to take advantage of the momentary lapse.

"Dazed, hit the Nidorina!" He commanded. Dazed's eyes flickered as she turned to the battle between Wave and Nidorina and used the same trick she'd used on Marowak. Nidorina was helpless to resist as she was battered by psychic force and finally knocked out by a high-powered water gun from Wave.

Ash frowned at that. It was an easy battle. He'd expected more, but when he saw his foes' next choices, he realized that he'd get it.

White had released a vicious looking crobat. It clung to the ground at the moment, but hissed as it saw the battle and flew into the air with incredible speed. Ash stared at it curiously. He'd never battled a crobat. All he knew was that they were fast, impossibly so. This might be a challenge.

Smith released a huge, angry typhlosion. It stood up on its hind legs and roared, causing a mane of fire to blaze up around its neck. Typhlosion landed back on all fours and prepared to charge, the flames rising and wavering with the cheers of the crowd.

"Ares, you're up!" White roared. Crobat flashed through the air at that, baring its needle-like fangs and doing a series of acrobatics to warm up.

Smith was quieter, just calling out a quiet series of commands to Typhlosion. The fire-type roared and flared up again, reminding Ash distinctly of Infernus.

"We'll need both of our pokemon to take on that crobat." Ash muttered to Jaimie. She nodded, having come to that same conclusion. "Take on that Typhlosion. Dazed'll keep the crobat away."

And with that exchange, the battle began. Crobat tore through the air, a blur too indistinct to actually follow. It avoided Dazed entirely, launching itself towards Wave. The starmie quickly fired water gun at Crobat, but the poison-type easily evaded the blast of water and darted in at the psychic-type. It evaded the next water gun as well.

Ash winced as he saw a flash of dull grey covered one of Crobat's wings as it slammed into Wave. The steel wing impacted straight into Wave's bright gem, sending a sharp crack through it and knocking Wave unconscious.

Typhlosion was racing towards Dazed, fangs bared and nothing but a blur of fire. It was now being supported by Crobat, who was darting towards Dazed.

His mind raced. Teleportation would only be a temporary solution. The opponents would be expecting it and Crobat would be too fast to avoid for long.

"Mutliball!"

Dazed's eyes flashed a light grey as a dozen tiny shadow balls formed in a ring around her. They circled the hypno slowly, being aimed and prepared to fire at her foes.

The rest was up to Dazed. Ash couldn't help her, all he'd be doing is distract her. Only she knew when to fire and where.

Crobat suddenly disappeared, a dozen illusory copies appearing in its place. Ash frowned at the double team, knowing that it would complicate things. The illusory Crobat swooped in at Dazed, suddenly disappearing as she locked onto the target with her abilities and fired her shadow balls.

The real Crobat was thrown to the ground by one of the shadow balls, although the shock quickly wore off and it shot back up into the air. It was a bit slower, though, so that was a plus.

Of course, that didn't help it much when it was suddenly consumed by an enormous burst of orange and yellow flame. Ash grinned as the charred form of Crobat fell to the ground, unconscious from being engulfed in the flamethrower but mostly unhurt. It was returned in an instant.

"Great job, Ignis!" Jaimie cheered. Her Charmeleon growled and spat another burst of flame. It shot another stream of fire at the racing form of Typhlosion, but the faster creature easily avoided the flame and spat its own flamethrower at Charmeleon in reply.

"Disable. Dream eater." Ash called out as Typhlosion leapt at Dazed's still form with all the grace of a predator. It was suddenly frozen and outlined in a light blue aura, helpless to resist as Dazed stared it in the eyes and began to sway her stone pendulum in front of its eyes. Typhlosion couldn't help but follow the entrancing motion, ignoring the cries of its trainer in favor of the pendulum.

In just three more seconds the Typhlosion's will had been broken by Dazed's natural hypnosis. She gently lowered the snoozing creature to the ground, making sure not to wake it.

Ash couldn't help but wince at the next part of the process. Dazed's eyes outstretched her hand, which began to glow red. A thin stream of red energy slid through the air until it touched Typhlosion, instantly creating a connection. Both of their bodies were suddenly engulfed in an aura of red energy, leaving the two as black outlines.

Typhlosion began to whimper and claw at the ground as its dreams were roughly torn from it by Dazed, who exhibited none of the care and tenderness she used when devouring Ash's dreams. Before the process could go on any longer Typhlosion was suddenly recalled by Smith, who looked visibly shaken by the technique.

"I forfeit." He shouted with a tremor in his voice. His hands were shaking as he placed Typhlosion's pokeball on the belt. White nodded understandingly and patted Smith on the shoulder.

"And there you have it, folk, a stunning battle!" The announcer shouted, barely audible over the roars of the crowd as victory was realized. "With power like that behind them, who knows how much further Ketchum and Sezare will go in this competition?"

A wide grin suddenly split across Ash's face as he realized he won. The trainer glanced over to Jaimie and saw that she had a similar reaction.

"You did awesome, Ash!" She cried before returning her Charmeleon. "With the two of us, this competition is going to be a breeze!"

He smiled and nodded before recalling Dazed and walking out of the box, whispering his thanks to her as he entered the area where the other competitors were stationed.

"And now for our next match!" The announcer cried. "Amell and Austin versus –"

Ash didn't pay attention to the rest as he took a seat next to Jaimie. They had a prime view of the battlefield from their spot and he needed to watch carefully. He needed to know everyone in the competition. There was no telling who he would battle.

XX

Ash and Jaimie ended up getting a pass for the next round of the competition. They performed the best out of all the competitors, losing only one pokemon during their battle. The other matches were much closer, and he'd seen some pretty tough competition in the other battles.

But now they were up again, facing their opponents, Ryan Dillard and Spencer Kale. Dillard was a young teenager that had a confident smile upon his face. He looked friendly enough, but Ash knew that he had the experience and skill to back up that confidence. He'd obliterated the competition although his partner had been much weaker, although no push-over. Kale was wiry and quiet, looking a bit uncomfortable with being in the center of attention.

"Ketchum and Sezare choose first! Go!"

He quickly sent out Infernus. Kale's team had been mostly weak to fire, and Infernus could easily fight the others. Kale was his priority. They wanted to take out the weaker team so they could focus exclusively on Dillard. If Infernus was defeated, Ash had plenty of other strong options.

Infernus roared and spat a huge column of white flame into the sky before he stamped his foot and caused the earth to explode around him and leak lava around him. The spectators loved it and cheered Infernus on. The fire-type started oddly and glanced at them as though he wanted to shoot a flamethrower into the stands.

Jaimie sent out her Venusaur. It was going to cover the no-man's-land in clouds of stun spore and sleep powder. Even if the opponent pokemon were able to avoid being affected by it, both substances were rather combustible. That would pose quite the nasty surprise.

Dillard grinned and sent out a massive, regal houndoom. It howled and spit a flame of dark flame traced with flecks of black soot inside of it into the air in imitation of Infernus. Infernus' eyes glinted as he took in the other fire-type, clearly ready to take Houndoom on.

Kale nervously released a slowbro, who lazily sat down and yawned before the sudden bite of Kale's voice snapped it out of its laziness. Slowbro stretched and looked at Infernus with a dopey expression. Ash saw the shelder attached to its tail clench a little tighter.

"Flower, cover the field with stun spore and sleep powder!" Jaimie shouted over the crowd. Flower yawned and looked at her in annoyance before he shook his body and sent huge clouds of both dangerous powders floating around the field. They didn't go near Infernus.

"Houndoom, Flash Charge!" Dillard shouted. Ash was surprised that he could hear him above the cheers.

Houndoom tensed up before leaping forwards, strong muscles pushing him at a fast pace. He spat a huge blast of flame into the clouds of powders, igniting them and sending them into a huge fireball. Flower grunted in annoyance and slowly backed away from the inferno, clearly uncomfortable. Infernus simply kept his eyes locked on the approaching fire-type, who was carrying a wave of fire at its heels.

Ash groaned to himself. He knew that strategy would backfire. At least it would just give Infernus more strength.

"Infernus, intercept."

Infernus roared before charging into the flames, his camouflage hiding him from all but the most perceptive of eyes. Houndoom was heedless as it charged through the flames, aiming directly towards the angry Flower, who had begun charging solar energy in direct violation of Jaimie's orders.

"Flower, use razor leaf! C'mon, for me!" Jaimie pleaded to the lumbering grass-type. Ash looked at her oddly, not understanding why her Venusaur wasn't listening to her. She was far too experienced for that.

Flower ignored her and continued charging its energy. Houndoom suddenly leapt from the crackling inferno that covered the majority of the field now, only visible as a black, horned blur as it aimed for Flower.

Unfortunately, Infernus punched it as it jumped outside of the flames. The magmar appeared as if from nowhere, nearly invisible amongst the inferno.

The punch sent Houndoom sprawling, the powerful fire-type not meant for taking hits. It whimpered and snarled as it pulled itself up and prepared to attack Infernus. Infernus simply adopted a fighting stance and prepared for the brutal melee that would follow amongst the flames.

Ash could hear Dillard shouting objections to his Houndoom, even above the roaring flames. Apparently the enraged dark-type was deviating from their plan. That could only be good for him. At least it distracted Houndoom from its real target: Flower.

Houndoom breathed a huge stream of flames at Infernus, heedless to the ineffectual nature of the attack. Ash grinned at that. It was fighting stupidly. While he'd seen the overwhelming power and skill it wielded in previous battles, Houndoom was only really effective when Dillard could command it. At all other times it seemed to be nothing more than a furious, slavering beast that barely understood how to battle other than bite and blast it with flames.

Infernus reacted with blinding speed, the heat pervading the battlefield speeding up his reaction time and lending him strength. He ducked underneath Houndoom's pounce and slammed his fist into the dark-types gut.

Ash could only hear a yelp before the two took their battle to the flames, only visible to him through the leaping pillars of fire and dim roars and cries that penetrated the roaring of the crowd and flames.

He sighed and glanced over at Flower. The venusaur was still staying far back, not contributing anything to the fight. Jaimie was shouting and pleading with it, but it just wouldn't listen. Flower was resolutely avoiding anything to do with fire or the fight.

It went on like that for another minute. He couldn't see the details of Infernus' battle and Flower wasn't doing anything, so it was rather boring. Ash was a bit worried about what Slowbro was getting up to. The water-type could be dangerous if it got a hold of Infernus.

And then he saw the flames explode in a certain area. Ash worriedly glanced over to the destroyed zone and saw that something had pushed the flames back. He was able to see into the battle a bit now.

Infernus was standing over the collapsed form of Houndoom. He was covered in bites, but he didn't seem particularly concerned. Instead, he stepped onto Houndoom and shifted all of his weight to that foot, eliciting a pained yelp from the dark-type.

The fire-type reared his head up and spat another stream of white-hot flame into the air, showing his pride in defeating Houndoom without much trouble. The crowd loved it and jumped out of their seats at the arrogant display of power.

Ash could only say that he was glad that Houndoom had gone into a frenzy at Infernus' first attack. He had been able to see Dillard's despondent expression over the course of the battle. Houndoom was a loose cannon, highly effective and fully capable of destroying most opponents with its fire when controlled by a trainer, but a rampaging mess when angered. It would have been a difficult fight otherwise, but Infernus' own skill had managed to avert disaster.

Even as Infernus roared his victory to the heavens, Slowbro waddled into the exposed area, its psychic powers creating a protected area for it to walk through, and shot a water pulse at Infernus' chest.

Infernus was thrown off of Houndoom, who was promptly returned by Dillard. He quickly pulled himself up and snarled at Slowbro, who blinked dumbly in return. The fire-type snorted a burst of flame and smoke before disappearing into the flames, nothing but an indistinct waver amongst the flickering inferno.

"Water pulse!" Kale shouted again. The shelder on Slowbro's tail clenched hard and Slowbro looked up. A sphere of blue energy formed above his mouth before transforming into a fount of water, which exploded outwards and extinguished most of the flames around him.

Ash winced as Infernus was hurled backwards by the force of the water. His friend was still fighting strong and furiously, but he couldn't take many more water pulses.

None of his techniques would work well against Slowbro. Brick break would hurt, but Slowbro would dampen its effects with its psychic abilities. Fire-type attacks wouldn't do much to the resistant creature. So there was only one venue left.

"Infernus, beat it!" He cried. Infernus tensed up and leapt as soon as the order left Ash's mouth. The fire-type slammed a fist into the back of Slowbro's head, knocking the water-type over. Slowbro tried to get up, but a huge flamethrower from Infernus that left the dirt around them glowing with embers and ash kept it down.

Just as Infernus prepared to deliver a finishing blow, a huge, shaggy form burst up from beneath him. Dirt exploded outwards, covering the entire area with a thin layer of it. An absolutely massive creature, standing at least eight feet high and four feet across, had erupted from the ground and was now standing protectively over Slowbro as the water-type recovered. Two huge, curved tusks of solid ice jutted out from its face. A pig-like snout twitched and snorted as the gigantic Mamoswine that had torn Dillard's previous opponents apart made an appearance.

Ash frowned at the behemoth. It was going to be absolutely brutal, so he couldn't hold anything back.

"Flamethrower!" He shouted. Infernus, who had just recovered from being thrown on his back, quickly followed suit, fearlessly facing Mamoswine and bathing it in flame. Ash had to look away from the inferno it was so bright.

When he looked back, Mamoswine stood strong. It hadn't even moved, but had taken the flamethrower easily. Mamoswine snorted at an order Dillard gave it and it slowly began a charge towards Infernus.

Even as Infernus faced the oncoming monster without flinching, Ash spotted Slowbro preparing a water gun that would ruin any efforts at defense from Infernus. He began to cry out a warning, but a huge beam of pure white energy suddenly flashed across the field and slammed into Slowbro, hurling it into the psychic barriers that enclosed the battlefield and knocking it unconscious.

Ash grinned. It looked like Flower had finally made an appearance now that the flames were gone. The grass-type lumbered over to the battle angrily, its beady eyes furious. Flower gave a deep bellow as it walked over, sending out a steady stream of razor-sharp leaves into Mamoswine's side as it did so.

Mamoswine simply ignored the razor leaf attacks as it charged towards Infernus. It lowered its head and prepared to slam its tusks into Infernus' side as it grew within five feet. Infernus tensed up and leapt out of the way, rolling and spitting a stream of flame at Mamoswine as he did so.

The behemoth snorted and slowed down. Dillard was calling out a constant stream of commands to the monster as it prepared another charge. Ash couldn't make them out, but knew they wouldn't be good.

Ash expected its next move to be an earthquake, or perhaps another charge. Instead, Mamoswine turned its massive head and opened its huge mouth. A stream of freezing air shot out from the lumbering creature's mouth and hit Flower, hurting the venusaur but not knocking it unconscious.

He took advantage of the distraction to strategize. Ash didn't know much about Mamoswine. They weren't from Kanto, for one, and weren't common anywhere. What he did know was from information passed around when the undefeatable creature made its first appearance at the tournament.

Mamoswine were ice and ground-types. They were as powerful as snorlax when charging and were incredibly dangerous. It took a lot to take them down and they had a dangerous move pool.

But he did think he had a strategy. He didn't know if even Infernus could take the Mamoswine down through brute force, but he could try to get it to overheat. The behemoth's thick fur would be baking hot already in this sort of heat, so if he pounded it with fire and got it moving enough it wouldn't be able to fight.

"Change out for Ignis." He said, never taking his eyes away from the battlefield. "We need firepower."

Jaimie nodded and hastily recalled Flower, attracting a bit of attention from the announcer as she did so. She released Ignis, who quickly ran over to the fight.

"Ignis, use flamethrower on Mamoswine!" She shouted, glancing at Ash to see if that was what he wanted. He nodded and turned his focus back to the battle.

"Infernus, take him head on."

Infernus roared and prepared himself as Mamoswine turned towards him. It completely ignored Ignis' flamethrower and focused on Infernus. Mamoswine grunted loudly as it charged towards Infernus with unstoppable force, bulk carrying incredible power behind it.

His friend bathed it in a stream of unrelenting flame as it neared, leaving the Mamoswine nothing but a dark shape hurtling towards him. Ignis lent her own flame, devouring Mamoswine from all directions.

Ash spotted its ice tusks melting as the heat intensified. It just couldn't take the heat. Mamoswine was already slowing, but would still hit Infernus with a good deal of force. The behemoth was too close to avoid.

"Take it!" He shouted, trusting that Infernus was still strong enough and Mamoswine was weakened enough for this to work.

And so Infernus took a stance and lunged at Mamoswine as it met him, grabbing its huge, icy tusks in his burning hands and anchoring himself to the earth as unstoppable force met pure determination and unwillingness to bend to any foe.

The crowd finally went silent as Infernus held the weakened Mamoswine in its tracks, forcing a stalemate. Both foes struggled to win the titanic struggle, Infernus utilizing all of his strength to defeat Mamoswine. Ignis continued to help, forcing all of her power into her flames as they slammed into Mamoswine's side.

It went on for several tense seconds. Ash could barely believe it himself. Perhaps he could believe it of Bruiser and his titanic strength, but for Infernus to hold a rampaging Mamoswine in its tracks…it was simply awe-inspiring.

And then Mamoswine fell, the heat too much for the mammoth. It collapsed behind the force, allowing Infernus to push it over even as the last remnants of its icy tusks melted in his hands. Before Infernus could begin attacking it with his flames again, Dillard recalled Mamoswine.

Ash let go of a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He stared at Infernus with awe, silent but screaming congratulations at the same time. Infernus just shakily stood there and roared, spitting flame throughout the battlefield to the immense cheers of the crowd.

Infernus collapsed after that, the effort of stopping Mamoswine too much for his powerful body to handle. He stared at Ash proudly before he was recalled.

He blinked and felt a crazy grin spread over his lips. Ash was just too frozen to do anything else as the crowd chanted his name and cheered him on. Jaimie was the one that ended up pulling him from his stupor and leading him to the box, shouting congratulations and squealing over Infernus as she did so.

XX

He and Jaimie stared at each other from opposite ends of the battlefield, partners turned opponents. Both knew each other's skill well enough, but both were confident in their ability to win. The crowd cheered their names, expecting a great battle from the first battle between partners.

"This will be a one-on-one battle." The announcer began solemnly, far from the boisterous attitude he'd claimed so far. "Choose your pokemon wisely. This will determine who enters the finals. Prepare yourselves and fight your former partner with all the ferocity you possess. Sezare chooses first."

Ash wasn't surprised when an immense blue serpent appeared on the field, exuding a calming aura and staring at him intently with large, glossy eyes. It coiled around itself and remained serene even as the crowd froze with awe at the sight of a dragonair.

"C'mon, Serpent, you can do it!" Jaimie cried, pumping her fist in the air. Serpent raised her head and gave out a low, soothing cry.

He just grinned. If Jaimie wanted a competition between dragons, she would get one. Ash trusted that Torrent would come through for him.

Torrent rumbled his arrival onto the field, shaking the earth around him. He levitated several feet above the earth, raising his elegant head in a dignified manner as Serpent's spell over the crowd broke and they began clamoring for the refined kingdra.

"And in a stunning development, we find ourselves watching a clash between dragons!" The announcer cried in a stunned manner. "I can't believe my eyes! Which of these powerful creatures shall find victory today?"

"Ice storm." Ash said quietly. The crowd was quiet now, too enraptured by the battle to cheer and roar. He didn't want to give away anything to Jaimie. She had trouble controlling a few of her pokemon, but she was a strong battler. He couldn't give her an advantage.

Torrent quickly spewed the thick haze of frost from his snout and let it diffuse over the field, an impenetrable barrier for Serpent. Before Jaimie could react he twitched his rear fins and created a gigantic tornado. The kingdra levitated with the twister, which he pushed to greater and greater sizes.

"Thunder wave!" Jaimie shouted. Serpent cried out loudly as the orbs beneath her neck glowed brightly and shot out a huge lance of blue electricity. It flashed towards Torrent and would end the battle immediately if it hit, but Torrent simply maneuvered the twister in front of the bolt of paralyzing electricity.

Torrent suddenly levitated into the twister, which by now engulfed the entire width of the field and rose a hundred feet into the clear blue sky, carrying huge amounts of dirt and dust inside of its spinning winds, and began forcing it forward. From what he could see, Jaimie had blanched when she realized that Torrent was nigh invulnerable inside of the twister.

Ash smiled softly. He needed to save his real energy for the finals. This wasn't a real fight. He knew that Serpent was an incredible force in battle. All dragons were. Even dratini were capable of a good amount of destruction if given reason.

That was why he had to end this quickly and decisively. Serpent couldn't fly above the twister, since at that height she would have run into the psychic barriers, and couldn't find a way around it. The hurricane-force winds would defeat the powerful dragon-type in just a few seconds if she tried to go through it, especially when the blizzard was assimilated into the twister.

So he wasn't worried as Torrent and his twister surged toward Serpent, an indomitable force that could not be stopped by any means.

And then he saw a bright blue glow focus on Serpent, briefly illuminating the entire stadium. Ash's widened and he nearly smacked himself. In his haste, he'd forgotten the most potent of dragonair's abilities: Weather manipulation. The twister might survive her neutralization, but it would be weakened beyond belief.

Jaimie was grinning widely as the blue light exploded outwards from the orbs on Serpents' neck and carved their way through the twister. While it had little effect at first, the blue light hovered in the air and slowly calmed the roaring winds.

Ash had a deep frown on his face as he examined the effects. The twister was dying now, the blizzard that swirled inside of it leaking away and losing its potency as warm air heated it. Even the winds were returning to nothing more than a particularly fierce summer breeze.

Then the light vanished, returning to Serpent's orbs in a single flash. For her part, Serpent looked exhausted. Apparently the effort of neutralizing a massive tornado was quite substantial. She was still able to fight, however, even if at reduced ability.

Torrent seemed fine, if a little tired. He had incredible endurance and creating the ice storm was much simpler than calming it. At least Ash still possessed an advantage.

Still, it was clear that creating another ice storm wasn't a possibility. Jaimie was onto him now. He had to end this decisively.

"Blizzard!" He cried. Torrent reared back and shot a huge blizzard, exponentially larger and more powerful than the one he had used in the ice storm. It swept across the ground, leaving a trail of frost in its wake. Dirt froze over as it passed by and crystals of ice formed on the battlefield's surface.

"Fly out of the way!" Jaimie shouted. Serpent struggled, but managed to levitate upwards. She barely stayed above the surging blizzard, the effort showing in her constant dips and twitches. Her body and mind wasn't meant to take the kind of punishment she had just put herself through.

"Dragon pulse. Follow with another blizzard."

Torrent easily formed the sphere of writhing energy and aimed it at Serpent's weakening form. A week of constant practice had done him good. He quickly released it, the sphere of draconic energy slamming into Serpent and releasing its power in the form of an immense explosion, the light of a sun emanating from the contact for a brief moment.

When Ash could see again, he saw that Serpent was crumpled to the ground. She was strong – she'd proven that by stopping the ice storm – but it was clear that she had no real way of surviving the kind of firepower that Torrent could use with ease. Dragonair didn't have the sheer power or endurance that kingdra did.

All was silent for a moment.

"Ash Ketchum advances to the finals, showing his strength in a brilliant display of power and skill! This battle will be remembered for years!"

Ash just smiled a bit, nodding at Jaimie with respect. She was a good trainer, if a little too soft on her pokemon. But, judging from her dragonair, she was doing well. Nothing else had managed to completely neutralize ice storm.

He recalled Torrent and thanked his friend for his strength before walking off of his box. The crowd was still silent as he went to the competitors' box, which was largely empty except for the last pair remaining.

The eyes of the crowd weren't so intimidating anymore.

XX

"And for the Finals, we have two incredible trainers! Ash Ketchum, who has shown that he has skill far beyond his age, and Jack Conolley, who has dominated each match he has engaged in. This is a one-on-one match. The stakes are high, but you must choose wisely if you wish to win. Conolley will choose first. Begin!"

Ash didn't like that the final match was a one-on-one. It just didn't seem to work well. But he supposed it did work well for the organizers. It gave a dramatic air to the last battle of the tournament and had the side effect of keeping it from dragging on too long. The tournament had been going on for well over seven hours now, which was absolutely brutal in the summer heat.

Conolley was a tall teen who had a constant, good-natured smirk. He was good, that much was evident. Ash had seen the way he defeated his opponents, carrying his much weaker partner's slack.

His opponent waved at him, which Ash hesitantly returned. He felt nervous again, the feeling of invincibility that had stayed with him following his victory over Jaimie practically nonexistent now.

Conolley released the one thing that Ash really didn't want to battle: a huge, roaring gyarados that had nothing in its eyes but pure rage. The creature took up a huge portion of Conolley's side of the battlefield. It was at least forty feet long.

He had nothing against it. Torrent was tired from the battle now that the adrenaline had left his system. Dazed didn't have the power to hurt the monstrous sea serpent that thrashed before him, belching fire as it roared. Bruiser had no chance. Infernus could barely stand, let alone fight. Tangela couldn't face it, not with it being capable of breathing fire.

Nidoking was weak to it, but he had thunderbolt behind him. He wasn't a good choice, but he was a choice. Ash was starting to wish he'd captured one of those electric-types running through Saffron City.

Nidoking roared loudly and pounded his chest as he was released, not intimidated in the least by Gyarados. The great sea serpent roared at him and slowly wound its way closer.

Ash formulated a rough strategy. Gyarados was invincible. Its armor was thicker than Nidoking's, so poison sting and other weak, ranged attacks would be useless. A punch would hurt Gyarados, but wouldn't do enough. Aside from that, there was the sheer problem of attacking a forty foot sea serpent up close.

What he did have was thunderbolt. Gyarados wouldn't be instantly defeated by it, but the sea serpent would be badly hurt if he used enough of them. At the very least it would keep it from attacking. The sea serpent was limited in mobility as it was, and the underside of its body was more vulnerable. It was his only chance.

"Hydro pump." Conolley said with a laugh, thinking that the match would be over quickly. Ash couldn't blame him. Nidoking was strong, but he was fighting against a beast ancient cultures had revered as a minor deity, just underneath the Legends themselves.

Gyarados reared its head back and spat a huge torrent of water at Nidoking, the flow constant and never stopping. Even as he realized that fact, Ash's mind flashed back to his battle against Blaine. The part of him that had accepted defeat was momentarily vanished by his hope.

"Thunderbolt!" He shouted desperately. "Follow with ice beam."

Nidoking resolutely did as he commanded, his increased reflexes allowing him to perform both actions before the incredibly powerful hydro pump that could wash a town away hit him. He lowered his head and shot a lance of bright, burning lightning into the flood of water.

Conolley's eyes widened in fear and shouted for Gyarados to stop, but the Gyarados was too busy blasting water that it couldn't hear. It did understand when the incredibly amplified thunderbolt travelled through the hydro pump and into its body.

Gyarados writhed in agony as the electricity raged through its system. It thrashed and twisted in an attempt to avoid the pain, pushing the psychic barriers protecting the crowd to their absolute limit as its incredibly powerful body slammed into the barriers. Fire surged from its mouth wildly, the inferno tinged a light blue and bathing the battlefield around it in flames.

Nidoking fired the ice beam just as the hydro pump was about to hit him. A small part of the hydro pump was frozen solid, giving Nidoking just enough time to sidestep before the remainder of the hydro pump forced the frozen part forward.

"Thunderbolt! Charge it!" Ash cried, able to see victory, no matter how unlikely it was. Nidoking roared and charged as fast as he could. A bolt of electricity left his horn and slammed into Gyarados' twitching form with perfect precision, sending the beast back into its spasms.

"Gyarados, get up!" Conolley snapped, a bit of worry on his face. Gyarados followed the order as best it could, pulling itself up from its agonized spasms in a display of incredible willpower. "Block the electricity with thunder. Wrap it up."

Gyarados roared furiously, pure hatred in its feral eyes as it regarded Nidoking. Nidoking roared back and shot another lance of lightning at Gyarados. The sea serpent reacted quickly, closing its eyes as a huge surge of electricity left its body and collided with the thin, intense thunderbolt.

Thunderbolt was no match for the power of Gyarados' thunder. The more powerful electric-type attack was simply absorbed by the immense surge of electricity that arced past it and slammed into the psychic barriers just in front of Ash's face.

Ash blinked in surprise before looking back to the battle. Nidoking was still racing towards Gyarados, having abandoned the thunderbolts. Now he shot ice beams at Gyarados, although they were blocked by immense breaths of fire from the powerful sea serpent.

As Nidoking charged closer, Gyarados suddenly snapped towards the poison-type. Nidoking was helpless to resist as Gyarados coiled around him, squeezing Nidoking with crushing force. Nidoking roared in agony, but kept the great sea serpent at bay by pushing outward as hard as he could.

Conolley seemed surprised that Gyarados hadn't knocked Nidoking out instantly, but began to react. Ash was faster, though, seeing another faint glimmer of victory.

"Thunderbolt!" He roared, making sure that he was audible to Nidoking. Nidoking bared his teeth with the efforts as an arc of lightning raced up his long horn and shot straight into Gyarados' mouth as the massive creature tried to breathe fire on him.

Gyarados couldn't even roar as agony raced through it, too powerful for the monster to resist. It writhed in pain and fury and accidentally let Nidoking go. The ground-type struggled to pull himself up, but quickly did so at Ash's command.

"Horn attack!" Ash cried. Gyarados was quieting down, breathing heavily and struggling to get back up. This was their last chance.

Nidoking didn't even roar as he barreled into Gyarados' sensitive underside with his sharp horn. The horn pierced through Gyarados' massive plates of scales, which were still thick even on the underbelly, and injected a huge dose of poison that would be enough to drastically weaken Gyarados into it.

But that wasn't all. Even as the spectators watched in awe and Conolley in horror, Ash shouted one word.

"Thunderbolt!"

Gyarados roared in agony as a huge current of electricity lashed through him, still too strong and overwhelmingly powerful to be knocked unconscious by the blow. Ash felt pity for the sea serpent as its gaping maw opened and closed helplessly, barely conscious but still feeling every bit of the attack.

"I forfeit!" Conolley shouted as he suddenly recalled Gyarados, looking at the pokeball with pity and admiration. He looked at Ash. "Ketchum, you are a magnificent battler. You deserve to win this competition."

Ash smiled and tipped his hat to him, feeling a little guilty for putting Gyarados through that much pain. But then he froze.

He just defeated a massive, furious Gyarados with Nidoking.

The roar of the crowd was a stark contrast to the silence within his own head.

XX

"And here is the Champion of the Annual Dandra Pokemon Tournament, Ash Ketchum!" The announcer roared to the crowd as he placed a heavy medal around Ash's neck. He had three others in his hand, one for Conolley, one for Jaimie, who had defeated Conolley's partner for third place, and Conolley's partner, whose name Ash didn't know.

"The money will be transferred to your trainer account within the hour." The announcer promised Ash quietly. He suddenly pulled out the reward that Ash wanted the most: the egg. The announcer held it out. Ash reverently took it, gazing at the solid black egg curiously. He couldn't wait to see what it hatched into.

The announcer suddenly looked up at the crowd. The winners were in the announcer's box, which had opened up to reveal them to the crowd that had come back to watch the rewards ceremony. It had been a day since Ash had defeated Conolley and won the tournament, and he had never felt better.

He had made sure to give all of his friends full restores. They were still tired, but they were healthy now. Ash couldn't thank them enough. All of them had battled with incredible skill and put everything they had into winning.

He'd also made sure that there were no hard feelings between he and Jaimie. He liked her well enough and didn't want her to hold a grudge. She'd assured him that there was no bitterness and was happy for him, if not disappointed in herself.

"Ladies and gentleman, before we continue with this rewards ceremony, please give our Champion a round of applause!"

Ash grinned and waved up at the crowd as he cradled the ebony egg in one arm. They cheered him on even more.

He didn't like battling in front of them that much, but he thought he could grow to accept the cheers.

**And it's done. Thanks for reading this far! I just finished writing this at 3 A.M., so bear with me if there are some mistakes towards the end. **

**First off, I'd like to apologize if I didn't put someone's OC in. I was rushed towards the end and I'm a little sleep deprived at the moment. Just PM me and I'll try and make it up to you in the future. **

**Please, please, please make sure to review. My hands and fingers might not be functional anymore. Let's try to get to three hundred! **

**Once again, thanks for reading! Next chapter will be out as soon as I can write it!**


	13. Chapter 13: The Master and Book Ends

**`Thanks for the huge amount of support last chapter! You guys are awesome and that really makes me feel awesome too. Sorry for the long update time. My prom was last weekend and I've had a lot of tests to study for. The next one won't take as long. **

**Well, enough of the author's note. I know everyone just wants to read the story. Here's Chapter Thirteen. **

Ash was standing on a large hill, thick forest lining the path. The terrain had transformed from the relatively gentle, flat forests into steep hills and sharp drops. He had to be careful exploring now. Plume wasn't here to warn him whenever he was getting close to danger.

He stared out over the huge forest in front of him, the vibrant green and brown of the vegetation shining brightly in the sunlight. It was an incredible sight, one that imparted the full majesty of nature upon him.

But he didn't care too much about the forest. He'd seen trees everywhere during his journey. It paled in comparison to the Viridian Forest, where the canopy was so thick in places light couldn't penetrate, where air hung heavy and still amongst the dens of bug-types.

All of his attention was reserved for the lonely mountain that jutted up from the landscape, dominating the countryside for miles around. Foothills guarded the solitary mount from those too weak-willed to approach it. It was covered in a thick forest of its own, but there were huge chunks of it missing in some areas, as though it had been torn away. Ruts in the earth visible from where Ash stood carved winding lines throughout the thick forest.

In other words, Mt. Hideaway was just as impressive as Ash had expected. It held nothing against the Ore Mountains, where Mt. Silver jutted up through the clouds and served as the primary barrier between Kanto and Johto, but Ash had only seen the tiny mountains that guarded Fuschia's territory. Mt. Hideaway was gigantic in comparison.

Ash glanced over at Nidoking. His plates of armor shined dully in the sunlight, keeping the duo from attracting too much attention. After leaving Dandra Town three days prior, several thousand dollars added to his trainer card and the large, black egg heavy in his pack, the lax atmosphere of the wilderness around Pallet was replaced by older, more territorial pokemon. Nidoking had kept the worst of them away. Few pokemon, no matter how aggressive, were willing to anger a Nidoking. It tended to be bad for their health.

There had been a few attacks by wild fearow, of course. They were plentiful in the area and too mindlessly aggressive untamed to allow him to pass by unscathed. After Nidoking sent three of them to the ground with two thunderbolts, they had left him alone. Now the worst he encountered was a hungry rattata or raticate nosing about in his bag when he was asleep.

"Well, there's Mt. Hideaway." He spoke up. Nidoking grunted and stamped the ground excitedly, clearly ready for an actual challenge. Ash grinned at his friend before returning his gaze to the mountain. "Be careful. There are some really big onix around here. I'd like to avoid a fight if we can."

Nidoking grunted at him, pounding his claws together. Ash knew that he still disliked onix from their experience at Pewter Gym. They had won, but getting up close and personal with a huge stone serpent would rattle the bravest of pokemon.

At least Nidoking would be able to sense them coming. Thanks to his secondary typing, Nidoking was able to sense huge vibrations in the ground, which usually heralded earthquake or other strong attacks. In this case, it would be enough to discover tunneling onix.

Ash sighed and idly shifted his pack to a more comfortable position, careful to avoid jostling the egg too much. Pokemon eggs were incredibly difficult to break – usually only the sharp claws of nest thieves like sneasel could shatter the thick shell – but he wanted to be careful.

"Let's get going." He told his friend. "We've still got a long way to go."

Nidoking nodded and followed him as Ash walked down the unkempt dirt trail, his huge, muscular tail acting as a counterbalance against his hulking body.

Ash sighed as he kept himself from simply running down the hill. Mt. Hideaway was huge. It looked as though it was only a mile away, but he probably had another half hour of walking before he arrived. And then there was the issue of actually finding this mysterious teacher.

It was going to be a long day.

XX

Ash panted as he walked up the steep mountain. He'd finally gotten past the foothills and reached the mountain proper just an hour ago. After taking a short lunch break, he'd begun his search.

So far there was nothing. The forest wasn't too dense, but there was just too much of it for him to actually search it well. Looking around the sections of the mountain that were little more than dirt and a few upturned trees was much easier, but still difficult. While it gave him better visibility, seeing the ruts and winding grooves in the earth that were at least six feet deep and eight feet wide made him feel very nervous.

If he met the onix that looked to be about three times the size of its kin, Ash figured he would run. Torrent would probably be able to force it away or possibly defeat it, but there was too much danger when battling pokemon that gargantuan. The onix probably wouldn't be trying to hurt or kill him, but pokemon that size often didn't know their strength. There were far too many training accidents involving onix for Ash to take them lightly.

Nidoking wasn't able to navigate the harsh terrain, not without tearing it to pieces in the process. His species lived in grasslands and plains, not mountains. He just didn't have the right kind of body structure to easily move around such steep areas.

So instead he had Bruiser with him. While Torrent could have easily levitated behind Ash, the dragon-type wouldn't be able to get rid of obstacles as well as Bruiser would have. Tangela would have difficulty moving around as well, and Dazed would have to constantly teleport to get to higher elevations.

Bruiser pulled him up to the flat area. Ash gave him a thankful nod and stayed on his knees for a few seconds, panting from the exertion of getting up the steep landscape. When his lungs stopped burning, Ash pulled himself up and looked around.

They were in a huge bowl. It almost looked like a meteor had landed in it, although Ash suspected that the onix were a more likely explanation. Judging from the gaping holes in the ground that indicated onix tunnels, this was one of the places that they surfaced, for whatever reason.

Ash frowned. "Bruiser, I don't think this is a good place to be."

Bruiser nodded his agreement, beady eyes glancing warily around the crater. Ash paused only to brush some of the dirt off of his clothes before he started walking forward, making sure to put some distance between him and the hill he'd climbed to get up here. If an onix did surface, he wanted to be away from the drop-off.

After a minute of brisk walking, they had gotten about halfway through the gigantic crater. Ash suddenly froze. Bruiser did as well, although he adopted a fighting position. He grunted at Ash and stood protectively over the trainer.

The entire earth was rumbling and groaning. But it wasn't from beneath the earth. It was as though something incredibly large was coming their way on the surface. He frowned and glanced towards the direction in which the rumbling was loudest.

Ash put a hand on Torrent's pokeball. He was the only pokemon he had that would be able to do real damage to the behemoths that lived beneath this mountain.

And then a loud roar that sounded like stone grating upon stone echoed throughout the crater. Loose dirt and rubble fell from the sides, creating small clouds of dust around the crater's slopes. Ash snapped to attention and prepared to run. He didn't need to be fighting anything that big.

He couldn't hold back the flinch that occurred when a gigantic serpent made of interlocked, thick boulders that were closer to black than grey suddenly shot off the side of the crater, roaring angrily and shaking even midflight.

Ash didn't let his awe at seeing an onix that was about fifty feet long literally fly through the air distract him from his primary goal: Escape. He sprinted to the right as the furious, panicking onix barreled towards him, leaving a huge, segmented groove in the earth.

Onix suddenly came to a stop and began bucking wildly again, roaring angrily and slamming its head into the ground over and over again. Thanks to its sheer size and stone body, the powerful blows that would have crushed a house into mere splinters did nothing to harm the creature.

When he was a safe distance away, around two hundred feet or so, Ash turned back to Onix. The magnificent serpent was still furiously slamming its gigantic head into the ground over and over again, but now Ash was able to see what had upset the gigantic rock-type so much: a large, burly man that was absolutely tiny in comparison to the beast he was riding. He had a maniacal grin on his face as he easily held onto Onix's large, sharp crest, displaying superhuman endurance by holding on despite the immense force rattling the rock-type's body.

Ash's jaw dropped when he realized what he was seeing. Someone was riding an onix. Someone that wasn't being thrown off and seriously injured by the stupid act. Someone that looked as though they were having _fun._

And then the man leapt off of the rampaging Onix, flying at least twenty feet into the air before expertly landing on two feet. He tensed up and released one of the pokemon on his belt, releasing a powerfully built hitmonchan. It didn't seem at all perturbed by the Onix that was now glaring at them with pure fury in its huge, slit eyes.

"Hitmonchan, you know what to do!" The man, who was about six and a half feet tall and muscular enough – Ash could tell, since the insane man wasn't wearing a shirt – to not look weedy, shouted happily.

Hitmonchan experimentally punched the air several times, fists moving so fast that they appeared to be a blur. It suddenly leapt at the Onix with incredible speed, darting around Onix's sluggish attempt at a bite and punched it in the forehead with an ice-covered fist.

Onix roared in pain and thrashed angrily, creating an incredibly dangerous situation for the insane man and Hitmonchan. It angrily slammed its head into the ground, sending deep fissures carving throughout the area and shaking the earth.

Ash struggled to keep his footing as tremors rocked through the ground. Bruiser planted his feet until they dug into the ground and maintained a steadying hand on Ash's shoulder. He nodded at the fighting-type in thanks before returning his gaze to the battle.

The gigantic man had taken the opportunity to nimbly jump onto Onix's neck, just near the base of its "skull". He held on tightly, taking care to avoid being pulled into the crevasses on the Onix where its boulders met and ground against each other.

Onix reared up and roared, its fury overcoming its sense. It lashed with its tail, attempting to crush the annoying creature clinging to its back. Unfortunately for Onix, the man dropped off and leapt onto the ground below just as the tail slammed into the back of its skull.

Ash watched in awe as the gigantic serpent reared up one last time and gave a single defiant roar before it collapsed, the blow hitting one of its weak points. He couldn't believe his eyes – a single human had defeated one of the largest onix in the world with only minimal assistance from a pokemon.

The man kept the maniacal grin on his face as he brushed a bit of the dirt incurred from battling Onix off and walked over to Hitmonchan, which was practicing its punches on the air. He patted Hitmonchan on the back before returning the pokemon.

He suddenly turned back and glanced at Ash. Ash just stared at the man who had just done the impossible.

"Hello, there!" The man cried out in a deep voice. He tensed up for a moment before jumping towards Ash, crossing the two hundred foot distance in just a few bounds. When the man expertly landed a foot or so in front of Ash, he extended a hand in a friendly greeting.

Ash just stared at him for a moment, taking the man in. He stood a foot and a half taller than Ash, with the muscle to match. The man wore nothing but a ragged pair of plain pants, worn and torn from harsh training and abuse. Manacles were clasped around his ankles and wrists, apparently serving as training weights. The man's skin was dark from the sun, almost matching his brown hair. His face was calm and serene, the opposite of what Ash would expect after defeating an Onix.

But all that was secondary. Ash recognized this man. He'd watched him battle a challenger the night before he began his journey. This wasn't just a fighting-type expert, this was a Master. Before him stood Elite Four Bruno, notorious for the Elite Four challenges he'd ended by crushing the unprepared.

"You're Bruno!" Ash exclaimed, eyes wide and his hands shaking. He'd met Lance and Steven, true, but that had been somewhat planned. Bruno was a complete surprise.

"Indeed I am." Bruno replied calmly, not surprised in the least at Ash's awe. "And what is your name, Trainer?"

Ash shook some of his awe away. "Ash Ketchum."

Recognition flashed through Bruno's eyes. The Master crossed his arms and looked down on Ash critically and then at Bruiser. "So you're the one Oak told me about. For you to have made it this far is somewhat impressive. The good Professor told me that you are strong, but let us put this to the test. Battle me."

A wide grin split Ash's face. "Yes, Sir!"

Bruno nodded and turned around. He leapt about fifty feet before turning back around, a pokeball already in his hand. The Master seemed immune to Ash's bemusement and sent out Hitmonchan.

The fighting-type needed no prompting. It glared at Ash and punched the air again, fists shifting between burning flame and frost before they'd even completed a single punch. Ash glared right back.

"Bruiser, you're up." He ordered. Bruiser nodded at him thankfully, a grin stretching his reptilian face. Ash knew that Bruiser wouldn't win. None of his pokemon could match that of an Elite Four member. But Bruiser was the one that would be training with Bruno. Maybe he could pick something up from this battle.

Bruiser pounded his chest as he took a fighting stance just a few feet in front of Hitmonchan. His beady eyes were narrow and focused as they took in his opponent.

"Hitmonchan, this is your battle." Bruno shouted. "Begin."

Hitmonchan nodded and suddenly sprinted towards Bruiser and threw an impossibly fast punch. Bruiser tried to dodge, but Hitmonchan's superior speed enabled it to deftly strike him twice in the chest with a glowing white fist.

Bruiser went stumbling back, but managed to dodge the fist Hitmonchan threw at him as he retreated. It was somewhat slower than the first one, but still impossibly fast. Hitmonchan didn't seem at all perturbed by Bruiser's dodge and got in closer before launching a flurry of punches at Bruiser.

Ash's friend took several of the powerful punches, his bulky frame being forced back as the punches slammed into his body again and again with crushing force.

"Low sweep!" Ash shouted. Bruiser ducked the next punch and swept his leg underneath Hitmonchan's. The fighting-type seemed surprised at the trick and went down. Bruiser took the opportunity to throw his own monstrously powerful punch at Hitmonchan, catching it in the chest and knocking the breath out of it.

Bruiser quickly raised his foot to stamp on Hitmonchan, but the fighting-type easily caught the foot in between its two glove-like hands and twisted, sending Bruiser toppling to the hard ground. Before he could land, however, Hitmonchan shot up from the ground and punched upwards, slamming its fist into Bruiser's jaw and snapping his friend's head upwards.

Ash winced as Bruiser fell unconscious. That had been brutal. Apparently Hitmonchan had no qualms about fighting dirty. He quickly recalled Bruiser, thanking his fallen friend.

"Send out your next pokemon." Bruno called out. "It is clear that your machoke needs work."

He nodded and sent out Torrent. His friend would be the best answer to the powerful Hitmonchan. Torrent had the most raw power out of his friends and would be able to shut Hitmonchan down with Ice Storm.

Torrent rumbled and stared down his snout at Hitmonchan, who glared back unflinchingly. It raised both fists and prepared to battle.

"Ice storm!" He shouted. "Keep away from it!"

His friend quickly followed suit, blasting a blizzard all over the area. Hitmonchan simply stood there as the cloud of freezing air neared, leaving a trail of ice shards and frost behind it. The torn dirt was changed into a glittering expanse of pale blue and white.

HItmonchan acted instantly. It rushed around the cloud of icy mist and tried to circle around to Torrent. Torrent casually fired a hydro pump at it, followed by a powerful blizzard. The fighting-type was forced to back away from the attacks and warily darted away.

That was Torrent's cue. His rear fins swished around elegantly and formed a great, roaring twister. It reached a hundred feet into the sky and quickly gathered earth, ice, and air into its great winds. Torrent elegantly floated into the Ice Storm and began to direct it towards Hitmonchan with his mind.

The fighting-type backed away with a stunned expression on its face, although it quickly turned to determination. It raised both fists and closed its narrow eyes for a moment, a look of intense concentration forming on its face as a sphere of light-blue energy was formed between its hands.

Hitmonchan continued to focus even as the great storm drew ever closer, the concentration shifting to a look of impassiveness. The fighting-type suddenly forced its glove-like hands outward, sending the sphere of energy directly into the Ice Storm.

Ash grinned when the focus blast only caused the storm to momentarily paused before Torrent caused the immense column of ice and air to surge forward once more, headed directly towards the helpless fighting-type.

But Hitmonchan had one last trick up its sleeve. It closed its eyes and spun around to gather air, forming a small whirlwind to appear around it as visible sparks of energy arced off of its body. Hitmonchan's body was suffused by an aura of energy just as the Ice Storm consumed it.

He watched intently as both whirlwinds collided, Hitmonchan quickly being engulfed. The two pokemons' forms were visible only as dark outlines in the midst of the clashing twister and what Ash recognized as a vacuum wave.

And then an immense explosion occurred, a shockwave blasting out from Hitmonchan's position and hurling Torrent out of the Ice Storm. While it didn't knock him over or send him into unconsciousness, the shockwave did manage to momentarily stun Torrent and cause him to lose control over the Ice Storm.

The Ice Storm stayed in action for just a few more seconds, whipping up a sandstorm as it roared forward, uncontrolled by Torrent's iron will. Ash's eyes widened as the most powerful technique he'd devised slowly fizzled out, winds slowly dying down as the power that whipped them into a whirlwind vanished.

Hitmonchan stood in the midst, panting and weakened by the effort to dispel the powerful storm, but not done yet. It glared defiantly at Torrent and suddenly reared its fist back. The fist began to glow brightly before Hitmonchan suddenly dashed forward at an incredible speed, the energy it used for the mach punch dramatically increasing its speed.

Torrent automatically fired a powerful hydro pump, the long training sessions with Ash imprinting that tactic firmly into his mind. The hydro pump was ducked by Hitmonchan, who reacted to quickly for Ash to see as anything but a blur before it leapt and punched Torrent in his armored chest, the speed gathered from the charge dramatically increasing the force.

Ash winced as Torrent went careening back, although his friend was still able to fight. But a slow grin spread across his face when he saw Torrent's expression. Torrent's temper had been dulled thanks to his evolution, leaving a fierce willingness to battle but tempered by new wisdom and power.

But it hadn't vanished. It still lurked deep within Torrent, just waiting to be unleashed.

And judging by the murderous glint Torrent's scarlet eyes possessed, Hitmonchan had just shattered all of the barriers keeping Torrent restrained.

He decided to let Torrent do this by himself. Trainers were only there to give directions and overall strategies, not to direct every single moment of the fight. Torrent knew what he was doing.

Torrent was deceptively calm as he levitated to face Hitmonchan, who had tried circling around him. He quickly fired off three hydro pumps, not showing the least bit of strain as the incredibly powerful attacks jetted towards Hitmonchan, whose body flashed white as it dodged the attacks with supernatural speed.

Hitmonchan was grazed by one of the three blasts of water, however, and that sent it reeling back in pain. Instead of immediately taking advantage of the situation and firing another hydro pump, Torrent twitched his rear fins and blasted a huge stream of freezing air and ice shards high into the air, where they hovered thanks to his unyielding control.

Four twisters, each slightly smaller than the one he had used previously, erupted into existence around him, quickly turning dark brown thanks to the loose dirt and earth that was yanked into them. They spun faster and faster as Torrent's body remained tense and furious. The twisters slowly converged upon Torrent, merging into a single, massive funnel of roaring wind.

Ash took a few steps back. The twister was a little too close for comfort, and even his awe at seeing what Torrent was truly capable of was trumped by his desire to avoid the massive twister. It was at least a hundred feet wide and reached several hundred feet into the air, quickly sucking up the clouds of cold mist that Torrent had previously shot into the sky.

He could see Torrent point his elegant head up and shoot another long blast of freezing air into the sky. It was easily absorbed into the tornado and spread throughout the lashing winds. Ash could feel the intense cold and the force of the tornado from where he was standing, more than a hundred feet away.

While the monstrous tornado that Torrent had formed was impressive, it paled in comparison to the effort required to actually move the gigantic column of wind. It started off slowly, Torrent clearly adjusting to the strain, but it slowly picked up its pace and moved towards Hitmonchan.

All of that had taken less than five seconds.

Hitmonchan took a hesitant step back as the icy funnel neared. It hesitantly raised its fists, however, and bravely charged into it with a glowing fist. The boost to its speed carried it through the worst of the wind and straight into Torrent's rigid body, although Ash saw Hitmonchan's body be knocked off course by the immense power of the wind. That probably did a ton of damage to it.

Torrent's barely visible form was knocked backwards by Hitmonchan, but Ash saw that he maintained control of the tornado. Hitmonchan remained in the eye of the storm; although its body staggered as it launched several more lightning-fast punches at Torrent. The fighting-type apparently realized the only way it would beat Torrent was to overpower him, and the beating it gave his friend showed its dedication to that goal.

Ash was simply amazed at Torrent's endurance. While he had no type-disadvantages that Hitmonchan could easily exploit and a thick layer of plate-like scales, to take so many hits from an Elite Four member's pokemon spoke volumes about Torrent's sheer strength.

Still, Torrent was going to faint soon. He'd been trapped by his own power. He couldn't release the tornado – leaving that powerful of a storm raging uncontrolled would be extremely dangerous – and couldn't respond to Hitmonchan's attacks while maintaining control.

But he could perform one last trick. Ash grinned as the tornado quickly intensified and shrank, growing much thinner and taller while losing none of its potency. It was a solid column of dirt and ice now, neither of the combatants visible through the thick veil of the elements.

There was no eye of the storm to hide in anymore. Torrent and Hitmonchan were being hurt by the storm in equal amounts, the dragon-type having realized that if he couldn't win, he might as well take the fighting-type down with him.

And that's exactly what happened. Roughly ten seconds after Torrent enacted the sacrificial plan, the storm suddenly stilled and exploded outwards, the intense blast of air carrying ice and dirt with it. Ash shielded his face from the blast, which was strong enough to make him feel it even at his distance.

When he looked up, he saw Hitmonchan's body collapsed on the frozen ground, the focused Ice Storm too much for its body to handle. Torrent was still levitating, although it was taking everything he had not too collapse.

Unfortunately, the strain creating, maintaining, and dismissing the Ice Storm had placed upon his body was too much. Torrent managed to turn to Ash and met his gaze with mutual pride before the scarlet eyes snapped shut and he collapsed.

Ash recalled his friend, feeling nothing but awe. Torrent had almost singlehandedly defeated an Elite Four pokemon! Even if he did have an advantage in being able to create Ice Storms and use blizzard, it was an incredible feat. While Ash suspected the battle might have gone differently had Hitmonchan been given directions by Bruno, the fact remained that Torrent had won.

"You're amazing." He whispered to his friend as he placed the pokeball back onto his belt. Ash grinned out at Bruno, who had actually let an expression of surprise slip onto his face. The trainer released his next pokemon even as Bruno released his own.

Nidoking emerged, releasing a fearless roar as he analyzed the surroundings. He stamped and sent a small ripple blasting through the earth, although it was nothing on a true earthquake. The poison-type roared again as Bruno's pokemon materialized.

Ash's eyes widened as the cornerstone of Bruno's team appeared: A gigantic, six-foot tall Machamp. It was well over the average size for its species, its muscles being far larger and standing more than a foot over the average. He remembered the last machamp he'd fought, which was onboard the St. Anne, and how he'd lost spectacularly to it.

There was no way Nidoking could match it in power. A Machamp was even stronger than machoke and much faster when it came to fighting. It was like battling four highly-trained, extremely powerful Bruisers at one time.

The key would be in poisoning it. If he could slow it down and damage its body enough, perhaps Nidoking could strike it down with long-ranged attacks or even get a good horn attack in.

"My friend, this battle is yours!" Bruno called out. Machamp nodded as a wide grin split its reptilian features. It used one of its fists to beat its chest before glancing at Nidoking with an unimpressed expression. "Begin!"

"Ice beam!" Ash shouted. Nidoking quickly followed the command, the energy beams all colliding with Machamp as it charged towards them. Machamp was barely slowed, although it was stunned for a moment as a thin layer of ice froze over it. The fighting-type simply flexed in order to break the ice. "Poison sting and get away."

Nidoking opened his mouth and shot out dozens of the barbs, his potent poison loaded into each one. Before they could strike, Machamp shot a ring of purple energy out of one of its fists. The ring struck the ground, causing it to glow a light purple. The fighting-type raised the hand that it had shot the ring out of, causing the purple earth to rise up and shift into stone. All of the poison barbs slammed harmlessly into the wall of stone, each breaking and releasing its dangerous contents onto the earth.

Machamp suddenly charged and leapt over the wall, landing straight in front of Nidoking. His friend shot an ice beam and struck the fighter directly in the chest, but Machamp flexed again to send the debilitating layer of frost falling to the ground. It grinned widely before launching a flurry of blows, too fast for Ash's untrained eyes to see.

Nidoking did his best to fight back, but he just wasn't fast enough to escape from Machamp. Powerful, lightning-fast blows sent him crashing to the ground. Although Nidoking's plates of armor helped to dampen the impact, the rate of attack was so fast that Nidoking was unconscious in less than five seconds.

Ash blinked as one of the strongest members of his team fell into unconsciousness. He recalled his friend and frowned. Against that kind of strength, he would have to use skill and evasion.

Dazed appeared on the field. Almost instantly Machamp charged towards her, fists raised and ready to knock her out with a few blows.

"Disable! Use psychic and psybeam!" Ash commanded. Dazed's eyes flickered blue and her pendulum flew forward, carried by an invisible wind, as Machamp became frozen in a light blue aura of psychic power.

The psychic-type quickly blasted the helpless Machamp with a wave of psychic energy, only to find that it did little to the fighting-type. Dazed's eyes burned blue as she fired an incredibly powerful psybeam at Machamp, only for the fighter to suddenly break out of the disable in a display of incredible willpower and sheer physical strength.

Ash grimaced as the rainbow colored beam of intense energy slammed into Machamp's chest and did little other than slow the powerful fighting-type down. Machamp had a grin on its face as it rushed forward. Just as it would have slammed its fists into Dazed, the psychic-type teleported away. The fighting-type scowled and looked around, only to be shoved forward by a powerful psychic blast.

"You can't beat it through attacking!" He called out to Dazed. "You have to _tire it out_."

He trusted his friend to understand the message he was trying to impart. Ash couldn't just come out and say his strategy, after all. A pokemon trained by an Elite Four member would easily analyze and tear his friend apart.

Fortunately, Dazed came through for him. She stared at Machamp with glowing eyes, entrancingly swaying her pendulum back and forth. Ash glanced away from the hypnotic motion and looked at Machamp.

The burly pokemon had frozen, its eyes hopelessly lost in Dazed's spell. Dazed stepped up her efforts, reaching into Machamp's mind with her power and slowly twisting it to fit her desires. Machamp's eyes began to close. Ash grinned, knowing that he'd managed to defeat a second member of Bruno's team.

But then Machamp had to ruin the moment. Its eyes snapped open and a wide grin emerged on its reptilian face, showing that it had just been playing with them. Machamp suddenly reared back one of its fists, which glinted a dark, metallic grey, and suddenly flashed towards Dazed.

Dazed stepped back and tried to teleport, but before she could utilize her immense power one of Machamp's fists slammed into her chest. Without a psychic barrier to protect her from damage, the force of the blow sent Dazed staggering backwards, leaving her open to more of Machamp's attacks.

"Zen head butt!" Ash shouted, panicking as Machamp closed in, an unstoppable force in such close quarters. While psychic would have been safer, Dazed was too stunned to maintain the focus needed to exercise the mental attack. Zen head butt was much simpler to pull off.

The psychic-type's eyes briefly glinted blue. A shell of blue energy created a barrier around her head and she leapt at Machamp with uncharacteristic speed.

Had it hit, the zen head butt would have at least given Dazed the time to teleport away and continue her attack.

Unfortunately, it didn't. Machamp simply sidestepped the attack and used two of its muscular arms to snatch Dazed out of the air. The other two fired quick, precise punches to Dazed's body, instantly knocking her out.

Ash sighed and thanked Dazed as he recalled her. That put him down to two pokemon. He wanted to save Infernus until last. The fire-type was the only one that stood a chance against Machamp, but he couldn't take him on with the monster of a fighting-type at full strength. The only way he could win against Machamp was if he softened him up first.

Tangela gurgled happily as he emerged onto the field in a flash of bright light. He waved his vines around excitedly as he spied Machamp, who began to charge towards Tangela with two of his fists emitting frosty air while the others were burning with flickering orange flame.

"Ingrain, Effect Spores!" He called out. Tangela displayed his skill as he performed both commands at the same time. Even as he rooted himself into the ground and began to drain nutrients from the soil, Tangela shook his body and sent a potent mix of both stun spore and sleep powder billowing around him.

Machamp grunted in annoyance and stepped back from the impassable boundary. Ash grinned. The fighting-type was stuck for now. That gave Tangela plenty of time to wear him down in a battle of attrition.

"Vine whip, wrap and giga drain." Ash ordered. The grass-type gurgled happily as he sent out a dozen extendable vines, each lashing out at Machamp with incredible force. Machamp managed to block and snap most of the vines thanks to its incredibly fast reflexes, but it wasn't able to completely avoid the damage. Long red marks from the lashes remained, although it didn't do much damage to the bulky Machamp.

Unfortunately for it, the other vines had also managed to wrap tightly around its legs. Machamp struggled to get free, but the vines simply tightened and glowed faintly as they began to extract energy from the fighting-type.

Machamp was helpless for several seconds as Tangela sucked away its strength. It struggled and thrashed around wildly, but only succeeded in tripping itself and falling over. Tangela quickly took advantage and wrapped five more vines around Machamp's body, although it avoided the arms that would easily snap out of the bindings.

The fighting-type slackened for a moment before rearing its large head back. Ash's eyes widened in surprise as a small stream of feeble, orange flame shot out of its throat and directly into the cloud of stun spores and sleep pow –

No.

"Ancientpower!" Ash quickly shouted as the massive clouds of sleep powder and stun spore ignited in an immense fireball. Tangela reacted quickly, shooting several balls of energy into the earth and wrenching walls of stone and ground up around him.

The makeshift barrier protected Tangela from the inferno that roared around him, but the horrible heat likely did a number on him. Just because he was protected from the fire didn't mean that he would escape unscathed. Convection was forgotten by too many trainers when devising strategies. Ash wasn't one of them, but sometimes it couldn't be avoided.

As the roaring flames died with their fuel source, Machamp suddenly leapt through the remnants of the flames with a furious look on its face. It charged the walls of stone and leapt, rearing a single fist back as it did so.

"Wrap." Ash shouted as Machamp landed, shattering the wall of stone with a single punch. The other hands rapidly removed the rest of the barrier in Machamp's way and hurled it aside. Machamp casually snapped the vines that rushed out to ensnare him and picked Tangela up, tearing him from the ground despite the roots he'd planted. Machamp's movements told him what was going on, even if Ash could no longer see the action well thanks to the remaining barriers.

Machamp grunted and hurled Tangela high into the sky. Ash winced as his friend slammed into the ground again several seconds later, but knew that the worst of the damage had been absorbed by Tangela's spongy layer of vines. Still, that kind of impact would have rattled him.

"Ancient power!" Ash called out again. Tangela tiredly pulled himself up, his ordinarily wide eyes narrowed in pain. Nevertheless, his friend fired another sphere of energy at the ground. Chunks of the earth were ripped from their roots and levitated around Tangela.

Tangela quickly hurled the three large stones at Machamp, who deftly caught each of them and crushed them into rubble. It menacingly approached, all of its fists now burning with a dark orange flame. Machamp reared its head back and fired another weak flamethrower, although Tangela blocked it with another ancient power.

Machamp suddenly broke into another sprint. It vaulted over the wall of earth Tangela had created and struck the grass-type with all four of its fists at the same time. Ash winced as Tangela screeched in pain, a truly horrible sound.

The grass-type was hurled backwards by the combined force of the blows, flying back at least twenty feet. Ash watched as his friend stood up again on wobbly, boot-like feet.

"Sludge bomb!" Ash shouted. "Then give him everything you've got!"

Tangela pulled the vines guarding his face back as he shot the glob of dark, murky sludge at Machamp. It was too fast for the fighting-type to dodge and sizzled as it met Machamp's flesh. The fighting-type roared in pain and staggered backwards, giving Tangela the opportunity to use his full strength.

Four huge chunks of stone were gouged from the earth and hurled at Machamp, each meeting their target. Thanks to its anchoring abilities, Machamp managed to remain standing, although it was clearly injured by the attack. A tornado of spinning, razor sharp leaves slammed into Machamp's chest next, the faintly glowing leaves carving faint lines into the fighting-type's tough hide.

And then came the vines. Three dozen extendable vines, a tiny portion of Tangela's massive collection, shot out from his friend's form and wrapped around Machamp's entire body, instantly glowing green as they rapidly sucked energy. The increased surface area only sped up the rate of the reaction.

Ash grinned, thinking that he'd finally found a way to beat Machamp. There was no way it could escape this, not when it was covered in the burning sludge.

Then, of course, the ridiculously powerful Machamp had to prove him wrong. Something in it snapped as the vines wrapped ever tighter, causing it to roar and suddenly flex. Every single vine ripped at the sudden expansion of the muscles, leaving the most dangerous situation Machamp had faced nothing but tattered vegetation.

Machamp launched a feeble stream of sputtering orange flame at Tangela, igniting his friend and causing Ash to stare in sympathy. Tangela quickly stopped it by using his vines to pull dirt onto the tiny flames, but by that time Machamp had already sprinted towards him and delivered a powerful punch straight into Tangela's body.

His friend went flying across the barren crater, tumbling at least thirty feet before he finally caught himself. Tangela hopped up gingerly, luminous eyes shut in pain.

Guilt gnawed at his stomach and he prepared to recall his friend back, only to put the pokeball back. Tangela's body was slowing glowing brighter and brighter until the grass-type had become a miniature sun, casting the entire crater in shining light as his vines all raised and began to wave around in a hypnotic motion.

Ash watched in awe as Tangela began the process of evolution. It wasn't as dramatic as Nidoking's or Torrent's had been, but it was just as incredible to watch. Even Machamp watched with an intent stare, no longer seeking to attack the evolving pokemon.

The first thing Ash saw was that Tangela's body shot up and lengthened at least three feet, growing from a short, squat form to a tall one. His vines, each independently glowing with intense white light, wriggled furiously. Some vines on his sides began to meld together, forming the long, strong arm-like structures of a tangrowth.

Each of his vines began to grow thicker, each of the hundreds of miniature limbs both lengthening and thickening in order to fully cover his new, large form. The last change was his feet. They grew longer and wider in order to accommodate his new body.

And then the glow faded, much faster than either of the last two evolutions Ash had witnessed. There appeared to be no pain involved, and it was an overall quick process. No drastic changes aside from the height and arms had occurred, and Tangela had always had a high pain tolerance.

Tangrowth stood tall and strong in Tangela's place, eyes wide open and narrowed in determination. He was extremely tall now, at least six feet. His three "fingers" had small red tips and extended from his pair of blue arms.

Ash grinned as his friend experimentally swished his arms around, giving the same familiar happy gurgle, albeit quite a bit deeper, as his new limbs responded to his command. Tangrowth hopped up and down before tensing up and staring at Machamp, his wounds healed by the process of evolution.

He was glad that it was Tangrowth that had evolved after taking that beating. Any other pokemon that evolved with that kind of damage would be put under heavy observation. But Tangela and Tangrowth healed incredibly fast, thanks to every cell in their body dividing rapidly and being able to become any sort of specialized cell. They just didn't take much damage.

Machamp eyed Tangrowth with new eyes, analyzing every feature that could prove a threat. It only took a moment, and Machamp was soon racing towards Tangrowth with a dangerous glint in its eyes.

As the fighting-type neared, it spewed another flamethrower at Tangrowth.

"Ancient power!" Ash shouted. Tangrowth gurgled and swept its arm upwards, new strength and control over its power enabling it to rip a large shield of rock from the ground with the motion. Energy shined around his hand as he levitated the rock, protecting his body from flamethrower.

Machamp tried to vault over the stone shield, but Tangrowth pushed his arm outward and sent the stone crashing into the fighting-type. While an annoyance to Machamp, it was no obstacle. The fighting-type casually smashed his way through it and landed straight in front of Tangrowth.

Tangrowth, reacting quickly thanks to the drills Ash had put him through, reached out with his arms and several of his long vines in an attempt to subdue the powerful Machamp.

The vines wrapped around Machamp's legs. When the fighting-type flexed in an attempt to snap them again, the stronger material managed to resist the move. They shined a bright, iridescent green as they began to sap even more energy from Machamp.

Ash's friend lashed out with his arms and went for Machamp's arms. They were incredibly fast, but Machamp reacted even faster and casually tore both of the arms off with a single motion. The limbs wriggled in a gruesome manner as Machamp angrily tossed them over its shoulder, leaving them to twitch in the torn dirt.

Had Machamp done the action to anything but a Tangrowth, it would have been horrible. As it was, the action was nothing more than an annoyance. Tangrowth wouldn't even register the pain, detecting the even only as loss of feeling and versatility.

"Wrap it up!" Ash commanded, making sure he was loud enough to be heard. Tangrowth quickly responded and lashed out with a dozen vines, assisting those that had already locked Machamp into place.

Machamp wouldn't be defeated so easily, however. It simply blasted another trail of crackling flame onto the vines and lit them on fire, softening them enough so that it could snap them. The powerful fighter grunted as it leapt at Tangrowth and began a quick, efficient beat down.

There was nothing Ash could do this time. Machamp wasn't playing around anymore. It didn't throw Tangrowth and give him a chance to recover. It simply launched an invisible barrage of powerful blows with its fists, alternating between fire and ice punches.

While Tangrowth was taking it incredibly well, Ash couldn't watch it anymore. He raised Tangrowth's pokeball and recalled his friend, knowing that Machamp was only seconds away from finishing the fight anyways.

"You did amazing." He whispered to Tangrowth's pokeball. It shook a little in response, growing a bit warmer. Ash smiled. "I couldn't have asked for better."

With that he put the pokeball on his belt and picked up the last of his pokeballs, and one of the most powerful on the team. He quickly tapped the release button and allowed Infernus to materialize.

The fire-type roared and shot a magnificent trail of white flame into the air when he saw Machamp, eager to test his strength against the powerful pokemon. Machamp grunted in response and began to walk over, a juggernaut confident in its abilities to withstand anything Infernus could throw at it.

"This is the pokemon of an Elite Four member!" Ash shouted. Infernus tensed up, excitement gleaming in his eyes at facing a foe like that. The fire-type seemed to believe he finally had a worthy opponent. "It's taken down Nidoking, Dazed, and Tangela. I'm counting on you."

Infernus roared and blazed up, eyes locked on the approaching Machamp. A huge wreath of white flame burst from his body, leaving him an indistinct, menacing figure in the blaze. He tensed up and prepared to do whatever Ash ordered, the flames encasing his body providing the necessary heat to speed up his reflexes to incredible levels.

"Flamethrower, Haze." Ash called out, struggling to be heard over the roaring of the flames encasing Infernus. The fire-type understood, however, and quickly launched a long stream of white fire from his mouth, surging towards Machamp with incredible intensity.

Machamp simply frowned and used rock tomb again, sending the purple energy ring into the ground and erecting a shield of stone. The rock absorbed most of the heat, although by the end it was nothing but a heap of slag and oozing magma.

The fighting-type carefully walked around the molten heap before breaking into a sprint, taking long, powerful strides across the earth that had been ravaged and torn by the battle. It paused when Infernus used fire spin, turning the area into a burning vortex of flame and heat, but warily watched the flames as it was trapped.

Ash grinned. Infernus could take it from here. It was his job to strike from the angrily swirling flames, a dark figure that stalked his foe.

Machamp didn't stand idly by, however. It shot the purple rings out of all four arms and used rock tomb, erecting a huge, encompassing barrier of rock that would block the flames and Infernus from doing much damage.

Unfortunately, Infernus was too devious to be defeated by such a simple strategy. He raced around the barrier, still emanating long tongues of flame that trailed behind him. Infernus shot quick blasts of intense flame towards the rocky walls, the incredibly hot flame leaving the barriers just a few piles of slowly melting stone. The magma slowly dripped, likely burning the entombed Machamp.

But that was just to distract Machamp. Infernus suddenly stopped and tensed, taking a moment to wrap himself in a cloak of fire before he charged straight towards the rock walls and slammed straight through, a thin layer of molten magma collected over his skin as he did so.

Ash winced as he saw Machamp thrown to the ground, weakened by the many injuries, however slight, that it had accumulated over the battle. It was barely visible within the twisting vortex of fire, but from what Ash could see it had droplets of magma all over it, taking a heavy toll on its strength and body.

Machamp roared defiantly, however, and even as Infernus backed off and began to bathe its muscular form with hot fire, it picked up each of its fists and slammed them into the ground. The earth cracked around it as an earthquake ripped through the ground, the immense force badly hurting Infernus and sending him crashing him to the ground.

The fighting-type and fire-type leapt up at the same time, one powered by the urge to defeat Ash's last pokemon and one powered by the urge to crush the strongest enemy he had ever faced. Both were driven by sheer determination and a furious need for victory.

Infernus recovered quickly thanks to the armor of magma that still oozed down his burning form, kept from solidifying by his incredibly hot body temperature. Ash could barely see the black droplets, laced with red veins of heat, but the imperfections they put on Infernus' form were simple to identify.

Machamp was crippled as it pulled itself up, unable to effectively withstand the flames. It had taken several ice beams, multiple psychic attacks from a powerful hypno, and had much of its energy sucked up by Tangrowth.

Nevertheless, it charged Infernus with a fury that could only be matched by the fire-type's.

Ash's friend stared it down with blazing eyes. Infernus focused for a moment and showed the full extent of his power and control over fire. All of the roaring flames that had been created by fire spin slowed and stilled for a moment before suddenly whipping towards Infernus. They wrapped around him in a column of fire not too different from Torrent's twister.

Unlike twister or Ice Storm, however, Infernus was actually enhanced by the flames that swirled around his body and hid him from view. He was stronger, harder, and faster thanks to the heat suffusing his form.

And it showed as he charged with renewed speed and determination, the extreme heat soothing the injuries he had incurred from the earthquake. Infernus raced towards Machamp, invisible in his aura of fire. The earth he left behind him was cracked and blackened, unable to withstand the impossibly hot fire.

Ash held his breath as both fighters collided, Machamp's sheer strength and power meeting Infernus and the flames that wrapped around their creator like bright, roaring armor.

He couldn't see anything as both were wrapped up by the flames, leaving him only able to guess at the outcome. Whatever would happen would happen quickly. Neither could last long in the brutal melee. Machamp couldn't withstand the hostile environment of a battle amongst flames, while Infernus could only take a few hits before he would go down, powered up by fire or not.

And then the world exploded. Ash staggered backwards as wind slammed into him with incredible force, so strong that he was barely able to keep his footing. He managed to shield his face and arms with his jacket before the searing heat hit.

Ash coughed and took his hat off when it passed him by. He shook some of the new soot off of the hat, although the white sections were still a slightly darker gray. The trainer frowned at it before shrugging and placing it back on his head. It would get clean eventually.

He squinted at the field, trying to make out the results of the clash. The intense heat still radiating from the charred, broken ground obscured his vision, casting everything in a wavy glare. Ash couldn't make anything out for sure. Smoke still curled up from the ground in oily, black clouds.

It took just a few seconds for it to clear up enough to where Ash could actually make things out. While there was still an incredible amount of smoke polluting the atmosphere, it had begun to drift away from the ground.

What he saw put a wide grin on his face.

Infernus was pulling himself up on trembling limbs, his endurance put to the test by taking just a few hits from the weakened Machamp. He glanced over at Ash and saw the trainer's grin and cheers. The fire-type wearily nodded at Ash before collapsing, unable to keep standing from the effort of facing Machamp for mere moments.

Machamp wasn't moving. Its body was covered in soot and ash, the thin layer of black powder leaving it almost unrecognizable. But there was no mistaking the bulky, unconscious form of the previously unstoppable juggernaut.

Ash regarded it curiously for a few moments, having to take in the pokemon strong enough to take down four of his friends. While he was hardly on Elite Four level, Ash was definitely one of the better trainers in Kanto. His Marsh Badge proved that. His friends were no slouches when it came to combat, and even a timely evolution had failed to truly halt Machamp's rampage. It showed that he had a long way to go if he wanted to be in the elite echelons of trainers.

He recalled Infernus' collapsed body a moment later, realizing that his friend needed to be put into stasis. While Machamp wouldn't have done any serious damage, the beating it had given to Infernus in the few seconds it had been within reach was impressive.

"Great job, Infernus." He whispered softly to the pokeball. "You just defeated one of the most powerful pokemon in Indigo."

The pokeball was silent and still, the unconscious fire-type unable to respond. Ash smiled at the red and white orb before placing it onto his belt. Infernus deserved his rest. He'd done more than Ash would have expected from any of his friends.

"You are everything Lance and Oak claimed." A serene voice, a sharp contrast to the sheer destruction that had been wrought upon the crater by the intense battle, said. Ash glanced up and realized that Bruno had somehow gotten over to him in the few seconds that he'd been distracted. The Master was unnervingly similar to Sabrina in that regard. "I believe you are fit to train with me. Come."

Ash blinked in surprise as Bruno suddenly turned around and began walking away, casually traversing the torn land. He quickly jogged to catch up with the Master, a slow grin forming on his face.

It was just hitting him. He, Ash Ketchum, would be trained by one of the Elite Four! Ash didn't know what he would be going through in the coming days, but he knew that he would prove the Champion and Professor right. He would meet and surpass all of their expectations, no matter what he had to do.

XX

Ash was beginning to regret his earlier promise to himself. He had just been pulled up the side of the gigantic crater by Bruno after an hour of climbing. While he'd managed to scale most of the steep wall by himself by carefully following Bruno's trail, his body just wasn't meant to take that kind of punishment. Despite his skill at battling, Ash was only eleven. He wasn't built for this kind of work yet.

"You did well." Bruno told him. The Master stood above him, his hitmonlee standing next to him with his segmented arms crossed in amusement. Ash was thankful for the fighting-type. It had followed behind him and kept him from falling on several occasions, easily catching him with its superb reflexes.

"Thanks." Ash wheezed, still on all fours. His body felt like lead right now, lactic acid making everything burn as he moved. There was the urge to vomit that always accompanied extremely intense workouts roiling in his stomach, although he knew he wouldn't have that relief.

Bruno hummed in response. He glanced over at Hitmonlee. The formal tone dropped from his voice, returning to what it had been when Ash first met him. "Friend, please go and prepare the campsite. I doubt our trainee is up to helping with dinner."

Hitmonlee rumbled in laughter, sending the powerful muscles throughout his torso twitching. He quickly ran off to the east, his long, loping strides carrying him easily across the harsh terrain. His segmented legs extended every time he stepped down, giving him additional power.

"He was my third pokemon." Bruno remarked with a fond smile, his eyes faraway as he watched Hitmonlee race away. "I got him after I won the P1 Grand Prix with my Machoke, three years into my journey. My uncle finally considered me worthy of using such a rare pokemon. He's carried me through many situation that none of my other brethren could have faced."

Ash held back a groan as he pulled himself into a standing position, listening to Bruno attentively. He wouldn't let a single word the Master said go past him. The trainer shifted the egg in his pack to a more comfortable position as he did so. It was padded heavily with several of his unused shirts now, making it very bulky.

Bruno turned to him. "My point is, we all have a start somewhere. You're an accomplished trainer already, despite your youth. Tell me, where did you become a trainer?"

"Pallet Town." Ash replied immediately.

The Master shook his head. "That is where you began. What I wish to know is what made you truly begin your journey. What sent you into the frenzy to become stronger, to reach your full potential and become the best you can be? What made you realize what being a trainer meant to you?"

Ash frowned and thought. He had always wanted to be the very best, the Champion, for as long as he could remember. Ever since he had seen Lance crowned so many years ago as a mere, adoring toddler. Even when he started he had been focused on bonding, training, and battling with his friends above all else.

But what had really drove him to become stronger was Mt. Moon. Seeing what Team Rocket was like in action and knowing the depths to which they would sink made him strive to be stronger, to push himself and his pokemon harder. They were his sick inspiration, the reason he wanted to grow strong.

"The Rockets at Mt. Moon." He replied hesitantly. Bruno nodded, black eyes calm and understanding. The man motioned for him to continue. "I saw what they did to people and pokemon. It wasn't until the St. Anne that I really started to get strong, but it was Mt. Moon that made me want to fight them."

"A worthy goal, but a dangerous one." Bruno replied. He crossed his muscular arms across his bulky chest. "You have succeeded in growing stronger. In a few years you might meet me in battle. Few can defeat Hitmonchan, let alone my oldest friend. You have grown strong. Why do you need my help? From what I can see you are intelligent and determined enough to train your pokemon. They are progressing well."

Ash averted his eyes for a moment, glancing at the bright sun that was beginning to lower over the peak of Mt. Hideaway. "I don't know how to train my Machoke." He admitted, not liking to show a weakness. Ash liked being able to handle everything. "All of the others are simple. They know how to use new moves and techniques. They can access their own strength easily. Bruiser is different. He's the strongest one on the team, but he can't use that strength very well."

Bruno nodded. "Good. You aren't too arrogant to admit a weakness. It's a start." He shifted and met the trainer's eyes. "I believe that you are worthy to train with me. Tonight you will rest. The true training begins tomorrow."

With that the massive man walked off, long strides easily carrying him up the slight hill. Ash quickly followed, ignoring the screaming protests from his heavy legs. He wouldn't let his own weakness hold him back, not when he had the opportunity to train with a true Master.

XX

"Home sweet home." Bruno remarked drily as they walked up the last small, albeit steep, hill and arrived at the campsite. "It is not much, but it's sufficient for our purposes."

Ash nodded and glanced around. As Bruno had said, it wasn't much. The campsite consisted of two tents, a ring of stones that encircled a lightly flickering campfire, which was the only light in the dark night aside from the stars, and a few rolled up sleeping mats. Above the fire was a thin wire, which a sturdy metal bucket was attached to. Something was simmering within, bubbling lightly and sending an unpleasant smell wafting throughout the air.

The entrance to a cave stood in the background. Perhaps it held more equipment to heal their pokemon. Ash was sure that, even though Bruno's pokemon were incredibly powerful, they needed to be healed after training, let alone after an intense battle like the one they'd had.

Hitmonlee suddenly ducked out of the cave, leaning his torso down in greeting to Bruno. The powerful fighter simply stared at Ash for a moment before placing two large bowls he was carrying by the ground in front of the two humans.

Bruno casually walked over to the fire and picked the bucket up by the thin, hot wire. The heat didn't seem to bother him much as he poured a thick, disgusting liquid into the two bowls. It looked black and smelled rancid.

The Master handed the bowl, its contents hot and bubbling, over to Ash, who looked at it in disgust. Now that he could see the "soup" up close, he could see that it was made of a thick, tar-like substance. It was still thin enough to be edible, but Ash thought that he might actually have to chew the thick mixture. Only a few vegetables were visible in the dim light provided by the small flame, but he could see that they wouldn't be particularly appetizing.

Bruno laughed at Ash's disgusted expression. "This will be what you eat while you train with me. It is absolutely vile, disgusting to the strongest stomachs, but it will power you through the day. Back in the feudal era, this is what the greatest warriors ate. No others had the stomach for it."

Ash looked back at the black soup, which stank horribly, and hesitantly accepted a worn spoon from Bruno. He glanced down uncertainly and slowly put the spoon into the black mixture, wrinkling his nose in disgust as he had to push the spoon in to the vile soup. It was just too thick to actually go in without assistance.

"I suggest you sit down first." Bruno told him, eyes shining with amusement. He had sat down himself and held his bowl and spoon in his hand as the Master watched Ash.

The trainer shrugged and sat down on the hard, cold ground. He winced as he dug the spoon into the black soup and managed to wrench some of the mass away from the gelatinous blob. It bubbled slightly as he looked at warily.

Knowing that if it was up to him he'd throw the culinary abomination away and have Infernus burn it away into nothing, Ash realized that he had to force himself to eat the simmering black liquid. He closed his eyes as he hurriedly dumped it into his mouth.

The moment it hit his tongue his gag reflex kicked in, making him wretch, although he refused to spit the soup back up. It was like nothing he'd ever tasted. It tasted of salt and vinegar, both foul tastes thick and strong in the dense liquid.

He was still aware enough to place the hot bowl back on the ground, and the moment he did he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. It felt as though his mouth was boiling away, the sensation as much from the horrible flavor as the heat.

Ash managed to force the slimy concoction down, just as he had some of the liquid medicine his mother had given him years ago. It left a burning trail in his throat, however, and he was fairly certain it was moving in his stomach as it settled. He wouldn't have been surprised if it was made from a grimer's slime.

Bruno, meanwhile, was laughing heartily. It was a deep, booming laugh that would have been pleasant under any other circumstances, but right now it just made Ash's temporarily fractured mind furious. Had his stomach not been trying to expel itself, he might have said something.

"It gets better with time." Bruno said in between deep breaths. It looked like there were tears in his eyes, although they were faint. "The first time is always the worst."

Ash didn't exactly trust that. Nevertheless, he picked the bowl up and glanced away from the black broth as he put his spoon into it again. A tremor passed through his body as he put the spoon into his mouth, but he managed to keep most of the soup off of his tongue. While it was still revolting and left a thick, slimy film across his tongue, it was manageable.

"See, you're learning." Bruno said amusedly. He was happily eating his own soup, barely wincing as it passed through his lips. "So, let us speak of your training." Ash quickly glanced up and was about to put his bowl down when Bruno shook his head. "No, you aren't getting away from the black broth that easily. You need sustenance, and this is the only source."

He sighed and picked the heavy bowl back up, wincing as he began to eat the black broth again. By now, Ash was not concerned that he was potentially eating a grimer. He was absolutely positive. Nevertheless, he listened attentively. Hopefully it would give him some sort of escape.

"Fighting-types are pokemon of power just as psychic-types are pokemon of finesse." Bruno began in between spoonfuls of the vile mixture he called a soup. "All fighting-types are blessed with immense physical strength, fueled by their spirit and honed through harsh training and trials. But they are useless without finesse, just as psychic-types are useless without some sort of mental strength to back their skill up."

Bruno paused for a moment to slurp up some more of the soup, barely affected by the tar-like fluid.

"They are born with strength and instinctively know how to fight, but they need training to reach their potential. They are much like psychic-types in that way." Bruno mused, staring off into the darkness of the mountain below them. Hitmonlee walked over and took a seat beside him. "But I digress. They are more effective than normal-types the moment they leave their egg, simply because they have at least some rudimentary knowledge of tactics and techniques"

A low roar sounded throughout the entire mountain, the furious call of one of the titanic onix. Bruno smiled softly into the darkness, somewhat amused by Ash's surprised flinch. The call, which sounded like stone grinding stone, echoed throughout the darkness for a few more moments before cutting off suddenly.

"Normal-types and their moves simply use the body as a bludgeon, their weapon of choice one of brute force, while fighting-types must use their body as a lance, using the same raw power as that of a normal-type but harnessing it and maximizing its potential and efficiency." Bruno continued calmly, caring little for the calls of an angry onix. "That is why fighting-types are superior. They force all of their strength and power, fuelled by their bodies and the energy that flows through them, into a single spot. A karate chop rather than a take down, for example. They can shatter stone, bend steel, and dispel the darkness with a single strike. They are the masters of battling the inflexible, pokemon who cannot adapt or rely on their sheer power to defeat their foes. Fighting-types are change, technique melded with indomitable strength."

Ash listened attentively to Bruno's philosophizing. It was unexpected. Bruno and the other members of the Elite Four were mysterious, rarely appearing in front of the media outside of televised tournaments or when they had taken down a Rocket cell. But Bruno's stereotype had been that of a brute, a savage that fought with fury and cared little for thoughts and speech.

He'd never really believed it, since someone who relied purely upon force could never have the skill to join the Elite Four, but Bruno was far more eloquent than he had ever expected. It was clear that he had honed his mind along with his body.

"Your Machoke is a normal-type at the moment." Bruno said softly, barely able to be heard over the light crackling of the flames. Ash watched the man's shadowed face and met his dark eyes. "He has strength and knows a few techniques, but lacks discipline. He has gained a little from the wilderness, but does not know how to use the energy within him to fuel his strength and make him a force to be reckoned with."

Bruno stared at him for a moment, inviting a question. Ash took the bait. He understood everything, but was curious about a single subject. After taking a final bite of the black broth, after which he happily discarded the bowl, which had a thick collection of salt, vinegar, and tar at the bottom, he asked his question.

"What is the energy within him?" He asked, turning to fully face Bruno. The Master was slightly hunched over, shadows cast over him by the dancing flames. "Is it just an expression?"

"No." Bruno replied, a pleased expression on his face. "It is both concrete and metaphorical, existent and a thing of the mind. There is an energy that suffuses every living being, not our spirit but something close. I do not know a name for it, or if it can be named. It is all encompassing, existent everywhere but known by few."

As Ash absorbed the information, Bruno continued. His speech grew more passionate, although it never lost the calm, didactic edge.

"It is the essence of every living thing. It bonds humans and pokemon together, our physiological and psychological differences overcome by it." The Master mused, glancing over at Hitmonlee. "I know little of the role it once played in history. My teacher was old and did not have time for such things. He focused upon the practical aspects of this energy, along with the philosophical. History was useless to him, the echoes of long-dead men pointless to a bitter man."

Ash frowned. "The practical?"

Bruno smiled again and began to trace small circles in the dirt. "Yes. It is not energy that is simply stagnant. It is able to be harnessed. Pokemon are the masters, unconsciously commanding control that few humans can match. It is fully realized in fighting-types, who, while blessed with monumental strength of their own, are able to utilize it to amplify their attacks far beyond what would be otherwise possible. Other techniques draw upon it as well."

He smoothed out the circles he had traced, leaving the earth blank. "All life is a master of this unnamed energy in its own way. Even the meanest bacteria are suffused by it, bursting with it. Humans are no exceptions. There are few that possess any ability to harness the energy, and even fewer able to draw upon it any meaningful way. It grants us abilities beyond the norm, granting us strength beyond what our bodies are capable of giving."

"You can use it." Ash said. It wasn't accusing, but a statement. He remembered Bruno casually jumping dozens of feet in a single leap, utilizing reflexes and speed that no man could possess.

A grin split Bruno's face. "Indeed. Everyone can, really. It just requires work that very few people are willing to put in. I spent two years training before I could enhance my body with it, and that is the full extent of my abilities. It moulds to me, strengthening my muscles, hardening my bones, decreasing the strain my training places upon me."

"Could you train me to use it?" Ash questioned. He wasn't willing to spend two years on it, but maybe he could at least learn how to do something with this mysterious energy. Just being able to move like Bruno would be awesome.

"No." The Master replied with a shake of his head. "I am hardly a student. Teaching is beyond me. Training is my calling, not teaching. I can show you how to shatter a rock or to teach your pokemon how to defeat an opponent by turning their attacks upon them, but I cannot describe to you the subtle nuances of the energy or how to utilize it. That is for a true master, not a man who can hardly feel it."

Ash was silent for a while, understanding but disappointed. He hadn't really expected Bruno to say yes anyway. It was just a wish.

"You should go to bed." Bruno said quietly, staring into the dying flames. "You have done quite well today and will need your rest for tomorrow. Now that you have the intellectual basis, the real training can begin."

The trainer nodded at him and stood up, wincing at the fatigue gathered during the day hit him with full force. All Ash paused to do was take off his jacket, leaving him in just pants and a thin, worn shirt. It was enough.

He rolled out one of the sleeping mats and placed it under a tent, aware of Bruno's impassive gaze all the while. Ash ignored it and got into the large structure, glad that the heat that had seeped into it from the campfire would help to insulate him. He knew that mountains could get bitterly cold at night even during summer, especially this high up.

Before he laid down, he took the pokeballs off of his belt and set them beside him. They were uncomfortable to have on him while sleeping.

It felt odd sleeping without at least one of his friends by his side, but he knew that Bruno wouldn't let anything happen to him. Without having to be afraid or wary of any pokemon stumbling upon him in the night, Ash fell asleep quickly.

If tomorrow was anything like today, he'd need it.

XX

Ash yelped as he was suddenly yanked out of the tent and held up by his ankle. He was upside down and held up in the hot sun, dizzy and confused. The trainer spied Machamp standing in front of him, a broad grin stretching across his face.

He futilely struggled against the fighting-type's iron grip, only succeeding at eliciting an amused grunt from the gigantic fighter. Ash glared at Machamp even as the blood rushed to his head and made his face red. He knew that he didn't exactly look intimidating at the moment.

"Machamp, let him down." Bruno's amused voice said, breaking the silence. Ash grunted as Machamp dropped him, although it angled it so that Ash would land on his stomach instead of his head.

Six pokeballs were suddenly dropped in front of him. Ash hurriedly grabbed them and placed them back on his belt.

"I healed your pokemon." Bruno told him as he helped Ash up. The trainer nodded and sent an annoyed glare at Machamp, who just sent him a grin back. "They are ready to train."

"Thank you." Ash replied. He was about to say something else when Bruno suddenly shoved a bowl of the gelatinous black broth into his hands. The trainer grimaced and looked at it with disgust. A spoon had already been placed into the mixture, the thick soup oozing on the handle.

Bruno was all business now. "You have five minutes to eat. I suggest you take advantage of it." He warned. "Today will be taxing."

Ash nodded and gingerly removed the spoon from the black soup. He sighed and began to shovel it into his mouth, the taste as horrifying as ever but slightly muted by the care he took to avoid letting the mixture touch his tongue.

He was done in no time. Ash was able to scarf a lot of food down quite easily thanks to quite a bit of practice on the road, but this was a new record. The trainer sent the bowl a look of disgust as he placed it down by the fire next to Bruno's bowl, which was wiped clean. His taste buds screamed at him for even touching the broth.

Next, Ash went for his pack. Just as he began to sling it around his shoulders, Bruno rebuked him.

"Do not take it with you." He said with a frown. "You will need all of your speed, and our activities might be dangerous for the egg. Hitmonlee will be guarding the campsite. He's slightly injured and needs recuperation."

Ash nodded, not bothering to ask how Bruno knew about the egg. He didn't seem like the type to snoop around in Ash's things while he was asleep. Maybe he just knew things, like Sabrina did. The trainer walked over to his tent and slid the pack inside, next to the sleeping mat.

"Come." Bruno told him when Ash pulled himself out of the tent. He immediately began walking down the slope in the direction of the forest. It was far away from the crater.

He quickly jogged to reach the man, ignoring the awful pain every movement produced in his body. His muscles felt as though they had been torn in half, but the sensation grew marginally less painful as he started moving around again. It didn't feel good, not by a long shot, but it didn't hurt as bad as before.

Ash settled into a steady pace besides Bruno. He had to take three steps for every one that Bruno took, but it wasn't too difficult to keep up. It was odd to be around such a gigantic man, however. The only person Ash had ever met that rivaled Bruno in sheer size and physical power was Lt. Surge. Even Lance paled in comparison.

Now that it wasn't sunset or night, Ash could really see the terrain of the mountain. They had spent nearly an hour maneuvering through the harsh landscape last night in order to arrive at the campsite, so he honestly had no idea where on the mountain they were. All he knew was that they were at least a thousand feet up. The air felt thinner.

"Prepare yourself." Bruno said as they traversed the harsh landscape of Mt. Hideaway. "Today shall be a testament to your own strength as much as it is your pokemons'. I will not be lenient on you."

Ash nodded determinedly. He wouldn't give up, no matter what Bruno put him through.

They walked for another twenty minutes before finally arriving at a huge clearing. The earth was torn and gutted, massive tunnels and ruts crisscrossing through it. It was clear that the onix were extremely active here.

Bruno came to a stop and turned to Ash. "This is where your test begins. I want to see what you are capable of." He suddenly released Machamp, who sent an obnoxious grin towards Ash. The trainer nodded back, not amused by its earlier antics. "My friend, use earthquake."

Ash blinked. What?

Machamp walked out to the center of the clearing. As it did so, Bruno turned to Ash with a thin smile. "Today will be to test your endurance. The earthquake will summon and anger the onix that live around here. You are to evade them and fight them off if it comes to that. My own allies will follow you and protect you from any particularly dangerous situations. When the onix calm, they will ambush you themselves. Each will act independently."

The trainer blinked again. Was he supposed to survive this?

Bruno glanced over at Machamp, who was tensing up. As the fighting-type leapt high into the air with a guttural roar and landed on the weak foundations of the earth, Bruno spoke up.

"I suggest you hurry. The onix will arrive soon."

Ash didn't waste any time. Even as the soft, structurally weakened earth began to collapse around Machamp, tremors wracked the area. A few trees collapsed, and he saw one of the gargantuan onix erupt from the ground, tearing several trees out as it surfaced.

He broke into a steady run, ignoring all of his instincts that called for him to sprint away as fast as he could. While it would do him well in the short term, sprinting would just drain his energy far too quickly. And from the looks of things, he would need all of his energy if he wanted to pass this test with flying colors.

Another explosion of earth, stone and wood occurred as a second onix surfaced. Ash took a cursory glance back and saw that this one was much thicker than the first one to arrive. It was nearly black and it looked as though it were in the process of evolving into a steelix.

The beast roared and shook the earth for hundreds of meters as it saw the first onix, which bellowed back in return. Ash saw Bruno recall Machamp and leap away from the area, apparently not insane enough to get in between two angry onix.

Ash kept his steady jog, carefully watching his surroundings. He didn't need to trip over a root or fall into an onix tunnel. While Bruno would fish him out, he'd prefer to not require the man's help.

Slowly but surely, he left the roars and the ear-rending crashes of the onix as they clashed behind him. Ash slowed down from his jog, wincing at the burning that had resurfaced from yesterday. He took a moment to glance around his surroundings again before he stopped for a moment.

He panted as he withdrew Tangrowth's ball and released the grass-type. Bruiser followed suit a moment later. The decision was simple: He needed pokemon that could move fast and had good endurance. Tangrowth was still rather slow, but in the forest he was more than capable of keeping up and detecting enemies. Bruiser had good endurance and could at least hold off Bruno's pokemon.

"Hey, guys. We're in the middle of a test. Bruno is setting his pokemon after us and is waking up every onix he can." He wheezed. Both of his friends looked concerned. Tangrowth had even abandoned his customary hug as he looked at Ash with concern with his saucer-like eyes. "Tangrowth, how are you feeling?"

Tangrowth gurgled and waved his arms around. Ash supposed that the pokedex entry hadn't lied when it stated they could grow back as fast as normal vines did. The grass-type pulled Ash into a proper hug this time, although he let go fairly quickly. Apparently he was well aware of their dangerous situation.

Ash grinned when he stepped back and looked up at Tangrowth. It was odd to see the grass-type towering more than a foot above him. He'd gotten used to Tangrowth being at least two feet shorter.

"That's good." He said with a smile, casting wary glances around the area. "Bruiser, are you alright? You took a beating yesterday."

Bruiser nodded, although he looked down a moment after. He seemed to be ashamed by his loss to Hitmonchan. Ash frowned.

"Bruiser, you faced one of the strongest fighting-types in Kanto and did fantastic. Not many pokemon could take one hit from Hitmonchan. You took at least a dozen."

The fighting-type still had a frown on his broad face, but met Ash's eyes and pounded his chest once. Ash grinned back.

"Alright, guys, let's go."

With that, the three set off, each paying as much attention to their surroundings as possible.

Bruno's test was just beginning.

XX

It was two hours later when Ash knew he needed a break. His legs were screaming and his throat was parched. He had taken a few sips from his thick water bottle – he carried it around his neck while training – during the long walk, but he just needed a moment to sit down and calm down.

"Guys, I need to stop for a minute." He told his friends. Bruiser and Tangrowth immediately stopped moving. Tangrowth dropped down from the sturdy trees casually, already adjusted to his body. Ash was half-surprised that the trees were able to take his weight, but figured he should have expected it. To survive in a world with pokemon, everything had to be sturdy and tough.

Bruiser simply flanked and guarded him. The fighting-type had been instrumental in repelling the only attack they'd faced so far. It wasn't even part of the test. They'd just run afoul of a large, angry primeape and her two mankey offspring.

While the primeape had been rather vicious in her attempts to crush every bone in Ash's body, Bruiser had managed to fight her off with a few well-placed blows. Primeape was strong, but nothing wanted to fight an angry machoke. When something could shatter a boulder as easily as it could breathe, not many things could stand a chance.

Ash was nervous as he sat down on a large stump. The tree looked as though it had simply been bitten in half, or perhaps snapped by an inadvertent blow from one of the gigantic onix. Marks of their residency were everywhere, from snapped trees to the deep ruts in the earth and boulders that had huge chunks bitten out of them.

He knew that this was when Bruno would strike. The Master had been playing with him so far. He'd heard onix roaring in the distance, just a mile away, but they'd never been drawn to him. He'd caught glimpses of a lithe, agile pokemon flitting through the forest, but could never find it when he looked.

The tension was worse than any battle could be. Ash was constantly nervous and paranoid. The slightest noise would send his and his friends into a wary silence.

Ash looked around the clearing he was in. He had no idea where he was on the mountain, although the omnipresent slope let him know that he hadn't made his way off of it. The clearing was filled with the similar shattered trees. Only a few had emerged unscathed from the onix that had come through here. It had left a deep trail in the earth as well, deep enough for him to stand and not be able to look over the edge.

Tangrowth happily climbed to the top of one of the unscathed trees. It creaked under his heavy weight, but stood strong as the grass-type settled and began to search for any intruders. While his eyesight wasn't very impressive, Tangrowth had good hearing. That would be more useful than sight for detecting the skilled fighters on Bruno's team anyway.

Bruiser settled next to Ash, although he didn't sit down. He just crossed his arms and prepared for a threat.

Just as Ash began to take a few quick gulps from his water bottle, they got it.

Ash winced as an enormous tremor rumbled through the ground, shaking everything for dozens of meters. It passed by quickly, so it wasn't an onix. That meant it had to be an earthquake. He was right. Bruno wasn't going to let him rest.

"Guys, let's go." He sighed as he stood up. There were more tremors, recognizable as those of the onix. Ash didn't want to be around when they surfaced.

Just as he stood up, the world exploded. Ash was thrown back by the blast, but Bruiser managed to catch him and gently place him back on the ground. He placed a hand on his forehead and shut his eyes. His clothes were covered with dirt, and the hard impact of tiny pebbles had left his skin stinging.

He shook the stunning blow off, however, and looked up. Ash paled when he saw a gigantic serpent rearing up and roaring. The onix was at least sixty feet long and was close to evolving into a steelix, although it hadn't begun to darken quite as much as the last one Ash had seen.

Onix roared again and idly flicked its tail. At least a dozen trees were snapped in half by the blow, but it was too insignificant for the stone behemoth to notice. The gigantic Onix leered down at Ash with cold, furious eyes. It apparently saw him as an intruder.

As the beast reared up and let loose another challenging roar, Ash took the opportunity to release Torrent. Nidoking was too slow to evade even one of Onix's strikes, and just one hit could be dangerous. Torrent could at least take a few hits and had the raw power to fight such a huge creature.

"Hydro pump!" Ash shouted the moment his friend was released. Torrent's attention snapped to Onix and the dragon-type valiantly stood his ground, not intimidated in the least by Onix. As Onix roared and shook the earth with every movement, Torrent rumbled back and fired a powerful, high-pressure blast of water into Onix's dark shell.

Onix's top half was knocked back, although it wasn't actually thrown to the ground by the blast. It quickly reared back up and roared, settling its massive, cold eyes on Torrent. Ash had to run as Onix suddenly struck at the dragon-type, lashing out with speed unbecoming of its size.

Torrent casually drifted away from the blow, firing another hydro pump into Onix's side as it missed and snapped a tree in half. Onix tumbled over, but didn't take much damage from the attack. It quickly opened its mouth and shot a DragonBreath at Torrent, the gale of bright yellow air burning hot as it passed by Ash.

"Blizzard!" Ash shouted as he frantically looked for cover. This wasn't a safe place for him to be right now. With a pokemon as large as onix, anything could happen.

Fortunately, he managed to get away just as Torrent released a flood of icy air from his snout, slowing the DragonBreath and dispersing much of its dangerous power into the icy field. Onix roared as the cold hit it, its cold-blooded body not used to such an extreme shift in temperature.

Ash grinned as he glanced around for Tangrowth. Bruiser was staying beside him, ready to protect Ash at a moment's notice. He quickly locked onto Tangrowth as the grass-type swung through the trees in quick, skilled movements. While Tangrowth hadn't had much practice moving like that, he was largely guided by instinct in this case.

Torrent was definitely the best choice for battling Onix. While onix could easily survive in most conditions outside the poles or underwater, they couldn't take such rapid shifts in temperature. They were cold-blooded since they usually dug deep in the earth, where it grew hot thanks to its proximity to the planet's core. Onix were still hardy enough to adapt easily to surface life when they weren't tunneling, but they were extremely weak to ice-type attacks thanks to their biological makeup. It was a weakness Torrent would exploit well.

But Torrent couldn't win alone, not without taking some damage in the process. He was faster than Onix, but sooner or later the monstrously huge creature would get lucky. That could be extremely, even for a pokemon as durable and powerful as Torrent.

"Tangrowth, climb on Onix and get some of your vines into the crevasses between its boulders." He said, speaking extremely quickly. Time was of the essence. "Mega drain for all you're worth. Use ingrain, as well."

Tangrowth nodded happily and stealthily leapt up into the trees and began swinging over to Onix. The rock serpent was still thrashing furiously and destroying the entire area. Ash knew that it was too angry to be observant of its surroundings. That would just work into his strategy.

Torrent would be able to hold the massive creature off, if not finish it for a few more minutes. That would keep Onix occupied, and while that was going on Tangrowth could climb up the rocky carapace and reach into Onix's slightly softer inner body. The softer, albeit still as hard as rock, area would be the only spot really vulnerable on an Onix that huge.

"Bruiser, stay with me." He said. Bruiser nodded and got ready to block any attacks that might fly their way.

As he waited for Tangrowth to enact the plan and called out orders every now and then for Torrent, he pondered catching one of these giants. It would certainly be a boon to his team. Onix was so massive and powerful that it would take an incredibly strong opponent to take it down. Not much could actually hurt a pokemon that large.

But he immediately shot that idea down. While Onix would certainly be a good teammate, he knew that he didn't have the resources to feed something that massive. Onix required immense amounts of food and minerals, and he certainly couldn't afford that even with the recent supplements to his trainer account. Ash wouldn't want to burden Professor Oak with the duty of feeding it, either. While it would be an interesting specimen for the man to study, it would be like giving him a Snorlax. In other words, prohibitively expensive.

In addition, he just wasn't sure if he could command the behemoth. Onix were notoriously temperamental, and older ones were particularly hard to control. And the risks were enormous. Just the slightest slip up with an onix and he could destroy a building.

So that wouldn't be happening for a while. Maybe when he was older.

Ash turned his focus back to the battle. He grinned when he saw Tangrowth easily leap onto Onix's back from one of the few trees that hadn't been destroyed by the rock-type's thrashing. Tangrowth was unnoticed on Onix's unfeeling armor, even when he extended a dozen vines into the node between two of the immense boulders.

Some of them rooted the grass-type to the roaring Onix, but others simply dug into the hard body and began to suck energy. Ash grinned when Onix suddenly froze in shock. It seemed to have no idea what was going on, apparently having never encountered a grass-type before.

And then it realized that it was under attack. Onix reared up and began to buck up and down in a futile attempt to throw Tangrowth from its back. Tangrowth had rooted itself in too deeply to be thrown off, however, and simply extended more vines into the softer flesh beneath the stone.

"Blizzard!" Ash commanded. Torrent rumbled and glared at Onix as he blasted a huge cloud of icy air towards the thrashing rock-type. The blizzard was so cold that it left a thin layer of frost over everything it drifted over, causing a huge swathe of the forest to be completely white.

Onix froze as the blizzard washed over it, leaving it encrusted in a thin layer of ice. While it would easily be able to shatter the ice with a single sharp movement, Onix was in a state of shock at the sudden temperature drop. The blizzard was much more powerful than the others Torrent had sent, so Onix hadn't expected it. Now the stone serpent was slowly lowering itself to the ground, going dormant for a short period of time.

Ash grinned. Perhaps he'd gotten a little lucky, but at least this meant that he'd get to escape without any of his friends being hurt.

He glanced over to Bruiser. "Finish it."

Bruiser grinned and cracked his knuckles before sprinting at the frozen form of Onix. When he neared it, he leapt and delivered a punch with all of his strength behind straight into the Onix's forehead, right between its eyes.

Ash saw Onix's eyes widen in pain and surprise, the power briefly shocking it awake before the force knocked it unconscious. He winced himself when he saw the dent and long cracks that had been sent throughout Onix's skull. While the damage was quite minor and would heal itself in less than a day if he remembered the regenerative abilities of onix correctly, it looked nasty.

The fighting-type grinned proudly and pounded his chest as Onix remained unmoving. Ash nodded and congratulated him as he walked over to the unconscious stone serpent. He needed to check on Tangrowth. While he should have been relatively unharmed by the blizzard, it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Good job, guys." Ash called out as he walked over to where he'd last seen Tangrowth. Just as he began to climb up the huge serpent's rock body, he was suddenly knocked off his feet by something very large and very strong.

He struggled for a moment as two strong, rubbery arms wrapped themselves around him, but when Ash looked up and saw the round, happy eyes of Tangrowth, he calmed down and laughed. It would take some time to get used to the new size and strength of his new friend.

"Hey, buddy." Ash grinned. Tangrowth gurgled cheerfully and gently placed Ash back on the ground. Bruiser walked over and stood guard over Ash, glancing around the wrecked forest distrustfully. Torrent levitated over as well, proud and regal over his victory.

"You did amazing!" Ash praised. Torrent raised his head up and rumbled his thanks, puffing out his powerful chest as he did so. The trainer laughed and looked over at Bruiser. "You too. You've definitely improved."

Bruiser grunted and smashed his huge fist into his chest again. He continued to stand by Ash as the trainer glanced around at the devastated area. Their battle had completely destroyed it, although much of the damage could be attributed to Onix's mere movements.

He frowned as another earthquake rattled the area. It looked like Bruno didn't want to give him a break.

"Torrent, do you want to stay out?" He asked. Torrent rumbled his agreement. Ash nodded and let him remain outside. The additional firepower would be a boon in the event of another onix attack, or if Bruno ever sent his pokemon directly after Ash. He'd need everything he had to fight off one of them.

Ash turned around and charted out a new path. He needed to get out of the area quickly. It wasn't a good idea to keep on fighting giant onix, even if he could defeat them. They were just too dangerous.

"Let's go."

XX

Bruno didn't let up for another few hours. Whenever Ash tried to take a break, he caused another earthquake and sent the onix into a frenzy. Sometimes he did it when Ash began to slow down to a more comfortable pace. Sometimes Ash thought he did it just for fun.

There had been two more battles with the giants. Neither had been as difficult as the first encounter with the onix had been. Ash had a strategy now: Torrent would use an extremely powerful blizzard and cause the stone serpent to go into shock, freezing their shell and locking them into position. Bruiser would then run up to the frozen beast and punch it as hard as he could, instantly knocking it out.

It had its troubles, but it worked. Torrent had taken another bad hit, although he was already recovering well. He was tough.

But now Bruno was only rarely performing earthquake. There hadn't been an attack in an hour. It was a nice break, but it was making Ash edgy. Bruno was planning something.

"Do you see anything?" He called out to Tangrowth. His friend was agilely leaping through the trees, letting out happy gurgles every now and then. Tangrowth suddenly dropped from one of the limbs and landed lightly on the ground next to Ash. He shook his large, covered head.

Ash nodded and frowned. Bruno was preparing something. The forest was silent and there was a tense atmosphere prevailing over the entire mountain.

But he would be ready. For now, he needed to lighten up. Ash looked over at Tangrowth, who was cheerfully bounding alongside him.

"So, do you want a nickname now?" Ash asked. While he'd tried to give Tangrowth a nickname before he evolved, he never seemed to like them. In addition to that, he had trouble remembering things. Now that he'd evolved, Ash hoped that the grass-type would have improved in that regard.

Tangrowth's eyes glinted as he gurgled an affirmative. Ash grinned and raised his hand as he began counting names off.

"Bramble?" He asked. Tangrowth stared at him blankly before shaking his head. Ash frowned. He hadn't expected Tangrowth to be very picky. "How about Phyll? Constrictor?"

The grass-type shook his shaggy body, not pleased with any of the names. Ash didn't think the last two were very good anyways, but he was still a bit surprised. Tangrowth didn't strike him as picky.

So he broadened his subjects. He started listing all sorts of names. Chlor, Shrub, Wrapper, and Bud were just a few of the examples. Ash actually liked Bud. It had a double meaning.

Tangrowth eventually chose "Binder". He seemed to like some of the names that Ash thought were…odd, to say the least, but the only one he seemed to love was Binder. It fit him, although Ash felt that it wasn't particularly creative. He'd just started to get into the interesting ones, too.

"Alright, Binder." Ash said, experimentally rolling the name off of his tongue. "You should get back up in the trees. I want at least one of us ready if Bruno's pokemon attack."

He continued walking, but stopped when he realized that Binder hadn't stopped following him. Ash glanced back at the grass-type and spoke again. "Binder, could you get back up in the trees?"

Binder stared at him uncomprehendingly, gurgling and waving his long rubbery arms around in a friendly manner as Ash stared at him. The trainer sighed. "Your name is Binder, right? That's what you picked."

The grass-type nodded exuberantly, sending the vines guarding its body shaking and squirming.

"So, Binder, could you please go up and watch from the trees?" Ash requested politely.

Binder blinked.

Ash sighed. "Tangrowth, could you please go up and watch from the trees?"

The grass-type happily nodded and bounded over to a tree they were passing by. He quickly used his strong vines to pull him upward, easily swinging alongside the others as they continued walking by.

The trainer shook his head, a little amused but far more exasperated. He should have known that Tangrowth wouldn't remember his nickname, even if he had picked it out himself. Tangrowth was an incredible battler, but when it came to everyday things he wasn't the brightest. To the grass-type, friends and having fun were important. Remembering things outside of attacks and techniques? Not so much.

Still, Ash couldn't keep a small smile off of his face as he watched Tangrowth happily leap through the trees with in elegance that didn't befit his bulky frame. He frowned thoughtfully a few seconds later. Nidoking had changed a bit since evolving. He'd become a bit more aggressive and prideful, along with a host of other tiny alterations, so he should probably ask his friend if he wanted a nickname. The powerful poison-type hadn't shown any desire of a nickname, but Ash didn't know everything.

In fact –

Ash barely had time to blink as Bruiser shoved him to the side as gently as the massive fighter could. It still sent Ash sprawling to the ground six feet away, but it kept Ash from being caught up in the melee that had suddenly ensued.

He blearily looked over at Bruiser and saw the fighting-type doing his best to defend from a short, fast figure. It was launching punches faster than Ash could see, although it wasn't the blur of motion that Machamp could produce.

When his vision cleared, Ash realized that it was Hitmonchan. A jolt of lightning danced down his spine, sending all of his senses into overdrive. He leapt up and quickly released Dazed. She would be the best to guard him at the moment. Her psychic shields would dilute the force from any attacks that came too close and she could teleport him whenever he needed it.

She didn't spare him a glance when she was released, instead focusing in on the fighters sending testing blows at each other, Hitmonchan a quick, lithe blur and Bruiser a steadfast wall, easily taking and avoiding some of the rapid punches.

"Psybeam." Ash said calmly, noting Tangrowth swinging over to him from the trees. Dazed quickly followed suit, her experience showing as her eyes flickered blue for a mere instant. After focusing her great power, she released an intense, rainbow-hued beam of energy towards Hitmonchan, striking the fighting-type in the side.

The psybeam was powerful enough to knock out most fighting-types and poison-types instantly, but it simply sent Hitmonchan stumbling back. Hitmonchan recovered almost instantaneously, however, and sent an annoyed glare at Dazed. It quickly returned its focus to Bruiser, however, as the machoke sent a powerful fist at it.

"Dazed, disable. Torrent, hydro pump."

Ash grinned as his commands were followed instantaneously. Dazed's eyes glimmered brightly and her pendulum swept forward, carried by an invisible wind, as Hitmonchan suddenly froze, a layer of psychic power overlaying its body and locking its limbs into place. Torrent rumbled and suddenly levitated out from the trees, rearing his head back before releasing an intense jet of water from his snout.

The hydro pump carried enough power to free Hitmonchan from the disable. Hitmonchan grimaced as it was hurled backward into a tree, slamming into the wood with a loud crack. It quickly recovered, revealing that the tall tree had a deep split through the center of it.

Hitmonchan glared furiously at them and suddenly flashed towards them at an incredible speed. Bruiser grunted as a fist was slammed into his gut with incredible force, amplified by the speed of the bullet punch. He tried to recover, but Hitmonchan suddenly launched a quick flurry of blows into Bruiser, instantly knocking him down.

The fighter didn't have time to savor its momentary victory, however. A second after it knocked Bruiser to the ground, Dazed picked it up with psychic and put an immense amount of force crushing into the creature. Hitmonchan's eyes squeezed shut in pain, although it valiantly struggled to break out of the psychic.

Just as Dazed was about to finish the job, she suddenly collapsed. Ash's eyes widened as his friend fell to the ground unconscious, barely catching a glimpse of a pale, grey fist drawing back from the attack. He backed away as he saw the immense form of Machamp leering down at him, a smirk on its reptilian face as it glanced at Dazed.

He tried to run, knowing that he would be able to outrun Machamp if he got a good start. Machamp wouldn't hurt him, just restrain him.

Unfortunately, Machamp realized what he was doing and easily snatched one of its hands out and grabbed Ash's collar before Ash could blink. It held Ash securely and forced him to watch the rest of the battle without being able to actually help.

Torrent was facing Hitmonchan, who had managed to pull itself up after the brutal psychic crush. They both stared at each other impassively, the memories of their last battle flitting between them. Hitmonchan's fists emanated wisps of icy cold air as they stared each other down, neither one willing to make the first move.

Bruiser suddenly charged at Hitmonchan, having pulled himself up from the soft ground several seconds ago. He reared his fist back and meant to send the hardy fighting-type flying back into another tree, but a blur suddenly slammed into the side of his broad face. The fighting-type groaned and went staggering back as the form of Hitmonlee suddenly appeared.

Ash blinked in surprise at the new arrival. He'd thought Hitmonlee was guarding the camp.

Hitmonlee allowed Bruiser a brief respite. The addled machoke grunted in pain but pulled himself into a fighting stance before the fight began. He didn't bother attacking, knowing that Hitmonlee would effortlessly strike him down.

The trainer glanced over to see how Torrent was doing. It looked like the fight had begun between the two powerful pokemon. Torrent was levitating away from Hitmonchan at a steady pace while the fighting-type sent barrage after barrage of lightning-fast blows towards the dragon-type. Ash grinned when he saw Hitmonchan suddenly fly backward from a hydro pump.

Since Torrent had the situation under control, Ash was free to focus on Bruiser. The two fighters were still staring at each other, neither wanting to make the first move. It would be a stalemate for a while, it seemed.

Of course, Ash held the means of ending that stalemate.

"Tangrowth, now!" He shouted. Tangrowth gurgled excitedly as he dropped on top of Hitmonlee with surprising grace, knowing enough of tactics to have maneuvered himself above the motionless fighter.

Ash didn't have to tell Tangrowth what to do. The knowledge was instinctual to the grass-type, who instantly began wrapping his vines around Hitmonlee as he smothered the larger pokemon. Despite Hitmonlee's sudden struggles – Ash could see his extendable legs kicking out furiously in an attempt to kick Tangrowth off – he just didn't have the muscle required to push the immense Tangrowth off of his body.

After nearly ten seconds of slowly weakening struggles, Hitmonlee fell unconscious. While he would have been more than a match for any of Ash's pokemon in a straight fight, Tangrowth's ambush was sufficient to overwhelm the fighting-type before a fair fight could commence.

Ash grinned at that. "Help out Torrent!" He cried. His friends instantly followed his commands, leaving the unconscious Hitmonlee behind.

He tried to reach for another of his pokeballs, but found that he was grasping empty space. Ash began to panic, but calmed when he realized that his belt was dangling in front of him. The trainer glared at Machamp's large grey hand as it tauntingly held the belt away from him, his chance of victory in plain sight.

Machamp laughed, a deep, low sound that sent shivers running down Ash's spine. While it wasn't particularly malicious, it was a sound humans had grown to instinctually fear. It generally wasn't a good survival strategy to hang around a gigantic Machamp.

Sighing resignedly, Ash focused on the fight. Hitmonchan was surrounded now. Bruiser was advancing from the front, Tangrowth from the side, and Torrent from behind. Somehow the powerful dragon had managed to maneuver himself around Hitmonchan.

One of Machamp's heavy, calloused hands covered Ash's mouth as the duel began. Apparently it wanted to see just how good Ash's friends were without his input.

Bruiser charged and drew Hitmonchan's attention, although the fighter obviously recognized it as a feint. Hitmonchan casually sidestepped the charge and ducked underneath the hydro pump Torrent sent its way. Ash winced as the hydro pump slammed into Bruiser's side and sent him flying several feet into a tree, where he landed with a loud thump.

Tangrowth was silent as he sent a dozen vines lashing towards Hitmonchan. The fighting-type's eyes suddenly burned a bright white, obviously using the Mind Reader technique. Ash supposed it was one of the moves that drew upon the energy Bruno had mentioned. There was no explanation for how fighting-types were able to use a move like that in the pokedex.

Hitmonchan was like water as it dodged the vines with fast, fluid movements. None of the vines made contact, and HItmonchan even managed to dodge a second hydro pump from Torrent. It showed its resilience by moving so quickly even after taking quite a bit of damage earlier in the fight.

Ash winced as it reared its fist back and suddenly launched towards Tangrowth at a great speed. While the comet punch did little to actually hurt Tangrowth, it gave HItmonchan time to launch a flurry of fast, powerful blows. Its fists alternated between being wreathed in flames and entombed in ice as the beatdown began.

Tangrowth gurgled helplessly and reached out with more vines, but Hitmonchan simply darted around them and quickly jabbed Tangrowth in the base of his neck, expertly striking through the vines. Ash winced as the grass-type collapsed to the ground, knocked unconscious by the strike. Apparently Hitmonchan knew where pokemon's weak points were at, not a natural ability of its species as far as Ash remembered, but carefully honed from long training.

Hitmonchan looked up after knocking Tangrowth unconscious, the iridescent white glow of Mind Reader leaving its eyes. That proved to be a mistake, as Torrent fired a powerful sphere of churning green energy into its chest a moment later. Torrent hadn't been idle while Hitmonchan battled Tangrowth.

The dragon pulse sent Hitmonchan flying onto its back as it was consumed in a huge explosion of bright green energy. Ash squeezed his eyes shut at the sudden light, but opened them as soon as he was able.

Where Hitmonchan had been standing was completely destroyed by the dragon pulse. Torrent hadn't held back. Previously splintered or cracked trees were now little more than large, charred twigs. The dirt had been swept away by the winds of the explosion, and a thin layer of ash covered everything.

Still, Hitmonchan remained. It had large burn marks all over its front, although Ash knew they were merely superficial for a pokemon. Hitmonchan had been brought to its knees by the attack, however, and was panting heavily. While it had truly proven itself to be an Elite's pokemon, it couldn't have much more fight in it.

Nevertheless, it pulled itself to its feet and stood defiantly against Torrent. The great dragon rumbled before rearing his head back, even as Hitmonchan reared its fist back and launched towards Torrent at an incredible speed, leaving it as little more than a tan blur.

The hydro pump went past the blur as it was carried forward by the attack. Torrent rumbled angrily as he was sent flying back by the force behind the punch, although he managed to catch himself with his levitation before he hit anything.

Torrent instantly prepared another dragon pulse, pouring all of his power into it. By the end the green ball of energy had grown to the size of a large boulder. He quickly shot the sphere of energy into the ground as Hitmonchan charged, causing an immense explosion that forced Ash to shut his eyes again.

When he opened them, he saw both combatants wearily staying on their feet, both too worn down by the draconic energy blast to fight anymore. Ash winced as he saw the energy take its toll on Torrent, his own attack's power doing an incredible amount of damage to his body.

Dragon-types weren't made to take their own energy. They had never been at anything less than the very top of their food web and, rare as they were, had certainly never faced competition from their own kind. There was simply no need to evolve defenses.

Torrent finally collapsed, fighting with every part of his will to stay upright. The strain was too much for his body, however, and the dragon-type fell unconscious.

Hitmonchan pumped its fist into the air proudly before staggering over to Hitmonlee's fallen form. It lightly kicked its fallen comrade before sighing and picking Hitmonlee up and throwing him over its bulky, pad-like shoulders.

Machamp lessened its grip on Ash, allowing the trainer to recall his defeated friends. He couldn't believe that they'd all been defeated by Hitmonchan. Hitmonchan was incredibly powerful and resilient, of course, but he'd have thought that the combined might of his friends would be enough to stop it, even without Ash guiding them.

He thought about releasing Infernus and Nidoking, but a tight grip on his jacket made him think better of it. While they'd certainly defeat Hitmonchan, Ash wasn't so sure if they would be able to defeat Machamp. The fighting-type had only had trouble with Infernus because of Infernus' incredibly hot body temperature and aura of flames. It would know how to fight him this time.

Hitmonchan grunted as it hauled Hitmonlee over, shaking its head when Machamp offered one of its gigantic hands out for the fighting-type. It just readjusted Hitmonlee's unconscious form and trudged off.

Machamp let Ash go and pointed after Hitmonchan. Ash got the memo and nodded. He quickly began to follow the fighting-type, figuring that it would take him to Bruno. It looked like he'd failed this exercise.

XX

Bruno was a serene figure in the dark, sitting cross-legged with his eyes shut. He didn't react at all as Ash sat down in front of him, taking a cue from Machamp.

It had taken more than two hours for them to get back to Bruno. They had been attacked by an onix once, although Machamp had casually defeated it with a quick flurry of punches. The destruction it wreaked upon the landscape – the onix was massive even for the breed of the mountain, so it had sent huge fissures carving throughout the earth simply by surfacing – had greatly slowed their travels, however.

But now, nearly an hour after night had fallen, he stood in front of the Master again. He was exhausted and knew that his pokemon needed healing, but he was proud. They'd fought hard and had proved their strength today.

"…You did well." Bruno said after an uncomfortable silence. "Sit."

Ash did so, mimicking Bruno's position. He watched the Master intently.

"You and your pokemon defeated Hitmonlee and nearly did the same with Hitmonchan." The Master began. His eyes were still closed. "Not many can. Still, you have a long way to go. Your Machoke is undisciplined."

He nodded. "Will we train him tomorrow?"

"Yes." Bruno replied. "You came here to strengthen your Machoke. Today you proved that you are tough enough to take my training. Today was merely a warm up. We will repeat this exercise one day."

Ash nodded, although a frown spread across his face at the realization that this was just an exercise. While the training today hadn't been overly difficult, it was still tough. A more intense version of today would probably entail Bruno setting every onix under the mountain after him.

A slow grin spread across his face. Now that he had a plan to actually fight the massive onix, something like that actually sounded fun.

"How long will I be staying here?" Ash asked curiously. He'd be willing to stay any amount of time to train with the Master, but he knew that the Elite Four were busy people, especially now that the conflict with the Rockets had picked up.

Bruno's eyes opened. The man regarded him thoughtfully. A few moments later, he gave his answer. "I doubt that we will have more than a week together. It shall be enough to train your Machoke. The rest it will learn itself."

"Is something happening?" Ash questioned. He remembered Professor Oak saying that Bruno would be on the mountain for nearly a month. Either Oak had gotten his information wrong – doubtful, considering how particular and organized the man was – or something big was occurring.

"…Something is happening." The man allowed; his face completely blank. He stared at Ash for a few more moments. "You are trusted by Lance. I believe that he wouldn't mind you knowing."

Ash leaned forward eagerly, knowing that this had to have something to do with Team Rocket. There was nothing else that would convince the Master to abandon his training early.

Bruno remained stiff as he began speaking. "We have found the location of another Rocket Executive." He started, looking uncomfortable with divulging the information. "Ariana. She was the head of research in the Sevii Islands cell. Something teleported her and her grunts out of the area before she could be arrested."

He scowled. Ash knew that name.

"_Can't forget the women. Might make Ariana mad."_ Petrel's disturbingly affable voice whispered into his mind, hiding his malice behind a thin veneer of jovial words. It looked like the mystery of Ariana's identity was solved once and for all.

Ash clenched his fists furiously. It sounded like that thing the Rockets were using was involved somehow. It just seemed to be everywhere, either teleporting Rockets away from the League or liberating the monsters from prison.

"She is currently operating in Celadon." Bruno said with a frown, his face growing hard and tense. His eyes glittered with disapproval. "Erika has grown too lax in her duties as gym leader. After I eliminate the cell I will have to have a talk with her."

"You're going to do it alone?" Ash asked in awe. While he'd done the same thing, he'd only gotten by through a mixture of luck and Dazed being particularly skilled with hypnosis. Bruno would simply be charging through.

Bruno smiled softly. "You did the same thing. The majority will be easily eliminated. Rockets believe in quantity over quality. Executives are dangerous, but they are no threat to me."

Ash frowned again. "What if that strange pokemon of theirs is at the hideout?"

"Then I will fight it." Bruno said simply. He crossed his arms. "We know little about it. Should I win, an unknown threat will be defeated. Should I lose, then it will be hunted."

He was silent. There just wasn't much to say to that kind of thinking.

Ash frowned when he saw a pair of glowing red eyes in the darkness behind Bruno. Its eyes didn't even notice him. They glimmered mischievously as it suddenly flashed towards Bruno. He began to stand up and tried to warn Bruno, but before he could rise to his feet Bruno had casually caught the shadowed creature and threw it onto the ground in front of the campfire.

The trainer looked at the wriggling, furious creature interestedly. Bruno had a soft smile on his face as he effortlessly held the creature to the ground with one of his massive hands. It was a small, blue canine-like pokemon. Its legs and torso were covered black, and its tail was blue. Large ears flapped around as the strange creature struggled to escape Bruno's grip.

"This is Riolu." Bruno said with a grin as he held the struggling pokemon up by the scruff of its neck. It glared at Ash defiantly with bright red eyes. "I received him from one of my acquaintances in Sinnoh. His Lucario had just laid an egg, and he believed that I was worthy of its offspring."

"How does it fight?" Ash asked as he examined Riolu. He'd never seen a pokemon like it before, nor had he even heard of one. It must be incredibly rare.

"Not well." Bruno smiled, lightly poking Riolu on its forehead. The creature sullenly crossed its arms and glared. "He is a fighting-type, although not particularly fearsome yet. When he evolves into Lucario, he will gain the steel-typing."

Ash nodded, a small grin making its way onto his face. It sounded like it would grow to be incredibly strong. As far as Ash knew, that was a unique typing, although there might be others considering that he was less-informed about foreign pokemon. "Will he be training with us tomorrow?"

"Yes." Bruno stated, lightly tapping Riolu's forehead in amusement when the rambunctious creature began wriggling in excitement. "He and Tyrogue. They are actually the reason I first came to this mountain. It has been nearly a year since I last came here to train. I believed that they would do well from training here. The landscape is harsh, and there are many powerful onix."

While he wasn't so sure about pitting baby pokemon against the onix that ruled the lonely mountain, Ash figured that Bruno knew what he was doing. He probably had Machamp and the other fighting-types make sure that they were safe most of the time.

Bruno set Riolu back down. The canine growled cutely at him before scampering off into the darkness. Ash grinned as Hitmonlee, who had recovered from his battle with Ash, seemed to sigh before following after the tiny creature.

"Tyrogue, could you please bring the soup out?" The Master called into the cave. A few moments later a tiny, humanoid pokemon walked out with two bowls of soup. It was a light purple in coloration and looked as though it were wearing pants and shoes, although it was really just brown sections of Tyrogue. Numerous bruises and scrapes marred its small, tough body, but the fighter looked perfectly content.

Tyrogue placed the bowl of black broth in front of Ash first. He wrinkled his nose in disgust and gingerly took the spoon out of it. Gelatinous black soup oozed off of the spoon.

In an attempt to distract himself from the food – and he used that term loosely – he was about to eat, Ash watched Tyrogue. The small fighter moved gracefully, although its body was tense and tough. It bowed to Bruno before handing him the bowl, and after Bruno thanked the young pokemon for it, Tyrogue scurried over to Machamp's side. He couldn't hold back a grin when Machamp glanced down at the younger pokemon and patted him on the head.

"Eat up." Bruno said in an amused tone. "Tomorrow won't be as strenuous, but it will be long. I will allow you to watch me train your Machoke and show you how to help him, but after that I wish for you to train your own pokemon. This is an ideal training environment for ground-type pokemon, and your other pokemon will not have to worry about damaging the environment. The onix have done so already."

Ash nodded and reluctantly began to eat the black broth, although he remembered to move it around his mouth instead of over his tongue. As long as he kept it as far from his tongue as possible, he didn't have to think about it too much. He was still positive that he was eating a grimer.

As his stomach churned in protest of the black sludge, Ash glanced down at his belt. His pokeballs were all securely clipped on, but he figured that Bruno would be healing his pokemon again. Perhaps it would be best to leave them out for Bruno.

"That would be a good idea." Bruno responded when Ash voiced his thoughts. He took another dignified sip of the black broth before continuing. "I suspect that they will require longer than last night. They've had less time to naturally recover."

The trainer nodded before looking down disgustedly at the bowl. It was empty now, although some of the sludge still clung to the bowl's walls. He placed it in front of the campfire as Bruno had done before and held back a sigh. His body was tired, and he was starting to feel all of the exhaustion he had forced back the rest of the day.

"I'm going to bed." Ash said before standing up. He hesitantly left his pokeballs next to the bowl, the gently crackling flame lightly heating the red and white orbs. The trainer stared at them for a moment before shaking his head. Bruno would take care of them. "Good night."

"Good night." Bruno replied as Ash walked into the tent. His dirty clothes were uncomfortable as he laid down, but his exhaustion was strong enough to overwhelm that feeling.

He figured he'd just get Torrent to lightly hose him down tomorrow, Ash thought as he shut his eyes. There probably wasn't any water easily available or safe.

Those were his last thoughts before unconsciousness consumed him.

XX

"Watch me." Bruno commanded to Ash and Bruiser. They stood in the crater, close to where they'd first met. It had been similar to yesterday morning, although Bruno was more lax in allowing Ash to eat and get ready.

Tyrogue and Riolu flanked Bruno, each eagerly watching as the Master launched into a quick flurry of blows and motions that had been honed over thousands of hours of practice and training. With his enhanced abilities, Ash wouldn't have been surprised if Bruno could take on most fighting-types himself. He was simply incredible.

"Tyrogue, Bruiser, repeat it." Bruno told them. Tyrogue bowed respectfully to the Master before bouncing over and assuming his fighting position. Bruiser did the same, although he simply nodded to the Elite.

They both performed the motion slowly, drawing it out and memorizing the movements instead of performing them in a blur of movement like Bruno. Ash had no idea how they even kept up with Bruno's actions. He'd moved too fast for Ash to see.

"Fighting-types react faster than most humans." Bruno explained, seeing Ash's stunned expression. "And when it comes to battling, you will find no better eye for detail."

Ash didn't bother nodding. He was too entranced by watching the fighting-types perform their motions. Bruiser had never been particularly graceful. While fast for his size, his strikes were normally rough and inefficient. He'd never been taught, and it showed.

But with a real example in front of him, Bruiser was already doing better. His movements were more fluid, less rough and choppy. Ash wasn't sure if Bruiser would keep it, but he was improving.

That continued on for a few more minutes. Bruno had them repeat the motions several more times until Bruiser had it down pat. Tyrogue seemed to be used to the basic movements, but was there as more a guide for Bruiser than anything else.

"Enough." Bruno said as he stepped forward. "Let me show you a new set."

With that he performed another flurry of blows, each one focused on landing devastating punches and other strong movements. His feet rarely left the ground except when he moved to deliver a punch. Bruno was an anchor for himself, an indomitable wall.

Bruno suddenly stopped and motioned for the fighting-types to copy him. As they began their motions, Ash asked a question. "Why aren't you kicking at all? Is it just part of that style?"

"No." Bruno said with a shake of his head. "There are several reasons. For one, I don't use kicks. I find them to be inefficient for my style of fighting. Additionally, few fighting-type pokemon are designed to fight with kicks. Only Hitmonlee and Blaziken come to mind immediately. Most have evolved to fight with their fists."

Ash understood. He'd noticed that, but wasn't sure if fighting-types were able to shift their technique towards kicks. At least Bruno had cleared that up.

He continued to watch as Bruno demonstrated basic exercises and techniques to the fighting-types. Ash could barely even believe that Bruno was human. The Master moved too fast and too gracefully for an ordinary human. Even if Ash knew the key to Bruno's physical capabilities, watching him was awe-inspiring.

After Bruno demonstrated a complex set of motions once more, he stopped and turned to Ash. He was sweating a bit, proving that even Bruno wasn't immune to the heat and sun that was pounding down on them.

"I'll take it from here." The massive man stated simply. "Go train your other pokemon. There's nothing you can do to help here. Make the most of your time here."

Ash frowned. "Are you sure?" He asked, not wanting to leave Bruiser behind. It didn't feel right to not be part of training his friend.

"I'm sure." Bruno said firmly. He inclined his head towards Bruiser. "You cannot train a fighting-type. It takes long years of training in the martial arts and a true understanding of the type to hone them into the best they can be. You would not be able to assist Bruiser if you simply watched. Go a bit away and train your other pokemon."

His frown grew as he followed Bruno's finger. The Master was pointing at an area not too far away, but with enough distance put between them that their training would not interfere with each other's. Reluctantly, Ash acquiesced to Bruno's request.

While he didn't feel right about leaving Bruiser behind, Bruno knew what he was doing. He was a Master of the fighting-type, one of the foremost experts in the world. Ash would probably get in the way. Besides, there might be training secrets that Bruno might not want Ash to hear.

"Good luck, buddy." Ash called out to Bruiser. The heavily muscled fighter smiled at him and waved, thick red veins bulging from his grey skin as he did so. He smiled and waved back before turning back to Bruno. "Thanks for helping me. Bruiser won't let you down."

Bruno's mouth turned upwards. "I'm sure he won't. He's raw, but by the time I'm done with him he'll have a foundation. This is the best way for him to learn. I'll teach you the basics on training fighting-types one of these days."

"Thank you." Ash said with a dip of his head. He palmed Nidoking's pokeball. If he wasn't able to train Bruiser, he would definitely use the time to work with Nidoking. It was about time he got his TMs, after all.

The Master nodded at him again before turning to Bruiser. Ash took the hint and left, listening intently to Bruno's movements as he walked away. It sounded like he was doing another group of motions and stances. Bruiser would learn well.

When he was about four hundred feet away, Ash released the rest of his friends. They'd all been healed by Bruno while Ash slept. As a member of the Elite Four, Bruno had access to incredibly powerful potions and medicines. They were powerful enough to fully heal his friends in an hour or so, even after the heavy injuries they'd sustained in their battle with Hitmonchan.

Nidoking roared and crushed his claws together when he was released, eyes instantly recognizing the harsh terrain in which they stood. Ash smiled at him guiltily, well aware that he hadn't released Nidoking since the first battle with Bruno.

"Are you alright?" He asked. Nidoking had taken some bad hits from Machamp. It wouldn't be too much of a surprise if he was still feeling it.

The poison-type nodded and grinned, exposing his large, blade-like fangs. Ash smiled back before he released the others. Nidoking lumbered over to him as he did so, making the earth tremble slightly just from moving.

"We've already trained for a day with Bruno." Ash told his oldest friend as the other members of the team appeared. "Sorry I didn't let you out, but it's been pretty tough so far. Bruno isn't too bad, but he's challenging. It's great!"

Nidoking nodded and rumbled questioningly, pausing only to nod at Dazed as she was released. The psychic-type blinked at him in acknowledgement before shuffling over to Ash, her eyes red and tired. Ash glanced over at his friend.

"How're you feeling?" He asked her as he released Infernus. The psychic-type cocked her head and shrugged, lifting her thick white mane up as she did so. Ash knew her well enough to know that she was fine. The potions had probably fixed most of her injuries.

Infernus roared and set to performing his release ritual. When he was done spitting a long stream of churning flame high into the sky, Ash shook his head with a grin on his face. While the fire-type could be a handful sometimes, Ash had missed his friend.

"Did you have a good rest?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. Infernus crossed his arms and nodded quickly, snorting a quick plume of red flame as he did so. "That's good. We're training today. I want you to try and master fire blast today, got that?"

The fire-type nodded again, determination beginning to glint in his black eyes. Ash knew that he would actually work on it today. Infernus had been working on fire blast for several weeks and hadn't mastered it yet, although Ash had to admit that Infernus had come quite far. Fire blast was an important move to learn, though. While flamethrower was more dependable, fire blast was powerful and intense enough to crack defenses and amplify Infernus' already impressive destructive potential.

Tangrowth was released next. He gurgled happily when he saw Nidoking and sent a few vines to greet the large, purple creature. Nidoking blinked in surprise at Tangrowth's new form and allowed the vines to gently tap him on the head and explore his plates before the grass-type withdrew.

Infernus received no such greeting. He was probably the only member of the team that Tangrowth actually disliked, mostly thanks to Infernus' prank during their first meeting. Aside from that, their personalities just didn't mesh well together. Tangrowth's cheerfulness and Infernus' aggressiveness weren't good matches.

Still, Ash was glad that they'd kept from getting in a fight. Tangrowth was at a distinct disadvantage against Infernus, but the two could cause quite a bit of inadvertent destruction if they ever got into a real battle. Infernus would certainly win in the end, but Tangrowth was no push over.

He shook his thoughts away and released Torrent. The regal dragon greeted all of the others with a low rumble. Nidoking returned it, although the others simply inclined their heads or, in Tangrowth's case, sent a few vines over to wrap Torrent in a hug.

"Well, now that that's over with, we should get down to business." Ash said with a grin. That drew their attention, although the mere sound of his voice would usually get them to pay attention, just as any attempts at communication on their part would gain them his. "We have four days to train. Bruiser is with Bruno, so I can focus on all of you."

Ash paused for a moment to cough and sip at his water bottle. While he'd gotten used to the arid environment inside the crater, the dust that was constantly whipping up was still an annoyance. Aside from that, some of the soup was still clinging to the inside of his throat like black glue.

"Anyways, Nidoking and Dazed are with me today." He began, wiping his mouth with his slightly dirty sleeve. "Torrent, you're tomorrow. Infernus is the day after that. Tangrowth, I'll be working with you on the last day and whenever I get a chance on the other days."

That seemed to please all of his friends. Tangrowth was bouncing up and down, excited at being able to work with Ash a bit more often than the others. Normally Ash wouldn't do something like that, but Tangrowth needed to get completely used to his new body before he faced Giovanni.

Ash stopped his friends before they could wander off. "I need your help. Nidoking is going to be practicing earthquake and it'll probably attract some onix. Dazed, can you teleport and get Machamp or Hitmonchan for me? I'd like them here just in case."

Dazed nodded. Her eyes flashed blue before she flitted away into nothingness. Ash started rooting around in his pack, trying to find the correct storage compartment for the TM case. The reorganizing he'd done thanks to the presence of the large, heavy egg in his pack meant that he wasn't completely sure where everything was now.

When he finally found it, Ash grinned and glanced up at Nidoking to let him know he was about to be recalled. Nidoking bared his fangs in excitement, crushing his claws together proudly. An instant later he was converted into red energy and sucked into the pokeball.

Ash quickly set the shrunken pokeball into the small slot on the TM case before inserting both disks into their slots. It was a much more elegant process than his first fumbling attempts next to the pond so many months ago.

An instant later he clicked the button that would activate the process and watched. First Nidoking's pokeball glowed a dull brown and then a vivid, striking purple. Ash grinned. Nidoking now had both earthquake and shadow claw at his disposal. He'd been powerful before. Now he had entirely new ways of fighting.

He gently pulled the ball out of the slot and put his TM case back into the storage compartment. Nidoking was released an instant later. His narrow eyes glinted with excitement, obviously anxious to test out his new abilities.

"Give it a moment." Ash told his friend. "We need to wait on Dazed. Machamp'll be able to take care of the onix with no problem."

Nidoking grunted his understanding and impatiently thrashed his tail against the ground. Huge cracks spread throughout the earth when the powerful muscle struck, but Ash didn't rebuke him for it. They were about to cause a lot more damage than that.

He'd seen a nidoking use earthquake at the last Conference. Ash couldn't remember the trainer's name – he hadn't gotten to the Finals, so he wasn't particularly impressive – but he'd won that match by a landslide. His opponent had used a steelix as his last pokemon, but one earthquake instantly knocked the behemoth unconscious as it tunneled. The arena had been torn apart by the attack, huge fissures carving throughout the ground and chunks of earth pulled upward.

If Nidoking could perform earthquake half as well as that one could, Ash would be pleased. Earthquake was an immensely powerful attack, especially when wielded by a ground-type that had a particular affinity for it. It couldn't replace Nidoking's immensely powerful physical capabilities, but it would let him avoid getting up close and personal right off the bat.

Ash was torn from his thoughts when Dazed suddenly appeared a few inches in front of him. He jumped back in surprise and frowned at Dazed. She liked teleporting uncomfortable close to him. It was getting rather annoying, although he could appreciate the humor of it after the shock had worn off.

Before he could say anything, a huge shadow fell over him. Ash glanced upwards and saw Machamp standing next to Dazed, dull grey skin blending in surprisingly well with their surroundings. The fighting-type leered down at him and cracked all four of its knuckles together, eyes showing that it was anticipating a fight.

He nodded his thanks at the gigantic fighter before he turned back and released Nidoking. His friend snorted angrily when he saw Machamp. Apparently his pride had been hurt worse by his defeat than Ash had thought.

"Calm down." He said soothingly, patting his friend on the shoulder. There was no chance for him to get stabbed by a highly poisonous spike there. Nidoking's eyes lost some of their anger, although he still glared at Machamp. The fighter just grinned back.

"Everyone, get back." He warned. His friends followed him until they were about fifty feet away. Of all of his friends, Ash suspected that Infernus was the most interested in this development. The fire-type was always interested in gauging Nidoking's strength and always sought to surpass it. It was a difficult chore now that Nidoking had evolved, but Ash figured that was a good thing. Now Infernus had real motivation to master fire blast and work with Ash on other techniques.

When they were a safe distance away, Ash looked at Machamp. The fighter had taken its own position and was watching with interest. It seemed a bit like Infernus in that respect.

Nidoking was standing alone now, a hulking purple figure that was distinct around the dull brown earth of the crater. His body was tense with excitement, the poison-type's earlier annoyance with Machamp all but forgotten as he anticipated Ash's order.

Ash grinned. "Earthquake!" He shouted. His voice echoed throughout the crater, bouncing off of the vast walls of earth and stone.

The poison-type roared and focused for a moment. Ash watched intently. It was time to see if that TM had been worth the hefty sum of money he'd paid.

Nidoking suddenly leapt high into the air, his monumental bulk briefly overcome by the sheer power stored in his muscles. When he landed, the earth shattered.

Ash staggered backwards as a wave of incredible force ripped through the earth, carving deep lines and cracks throughout the ground and forcing the area around the poison-type to explode upward. Nidoking was left standing in what appeared to be a sunken pit, although in reality he had simply caused the earth adjacent to him to shift and churn upwards.

Tangrowth carefully caught him and held him secure with his rubbery arms. Ash grinned his thanks at his friend before glancing over at Machamp. The indomitable beast simply grinned and cracked its knuckles again as it saw the power behind the earthquake.

Clouds of dust billowed upwards, wildly swirling around before they settled into a thin haze. All Ash could see of Nidoking was his muscular torso, his friend's lower half obscured by the dust and upturned earth.

"Dazed, could you please blow that away?" He asked. Dazed blinked before her eyes flashed. Her pendulum suddenly swept to the side as an immense wave of psychic energy blew the clouds away. Ash thanked her politely before walking over to Nidoking.

Nidoking grunted happily when he saw Ash. The trainer grinned at his friend. "That was incredible! There's no way Giovanni will be able to resist that."

His grin slowly stretched wider. "We can practice that more later. Can you feel any onix coming toward us?"

Nidoking shut his narrow eyes for a moment before he shook his head. Ash frowned. That was odd. After Machamp's tiny earthquake two onix had immediately surfaced. Perhaps they had learned to avoid the crater. It was Bruno's training ground, after all. Or else the earthquake might have been enough to dissuade them, a sign that showed whatever had created it was not to be trifled with. Machamp's weak earthquakes were probably more insults than anything else.

"Let's start on shadow claw, then." Ash stated. He started to back away. Shadow claw wasn't as dangerous as earthquake, but that didn't mean he wanted to be around it. No attack was completely safe to be around, especially not when they were used by a pokemon of Nidoking's caliber.

He gazed curiously as Nidoking closed his eyes and outstretched one of his immense claws. The claws shined dully in the bright sunlight as Nidoking focused his energy. For a few moments, nothing happened. Then his entire arm suddenly went ablaze with black energy, outlined in a deadly violet and formed into a dark, grasping claw.

Nidoking's eyes glinted purple for just a moment as he examined the energy suffusing his arm. He bared his teeth in amusement and then slashed with the shadow claw. It left wisps of darkness trailing behind it, the move's energies momentarily disrupting the natural laws and keeping the intense daylight from banishing the wisps.

The energy left Nidoking as he finished his slash. It surged forward into the ground, bathing the area in darkness for just a moment. Ash watched it curiously as its ghostly energies were slowly consumed and destroyed until the ground was back to normal.

Ash noticed Dazed shut her eyes as the energy bled off into the atmosphere. He didn't like that it hurt her and made her uncomfortable, but he did like that shadow claw was powerful enough to affect psychics even at that distance. It could at least distract them from taking advantage of Nidoking's weakness.

"Good job, buddy!" He called out. Nidoking roared back happily, causing the earth to vibrate a bit. The poison-type was beginning to grow into his ground abilities. Everything was a bit more controlled now.

Now that he was sure that Nidoking was fine, he turned back to his other friends. Most of them seemed at least somewhat impressed with Nidoking's new abilities. With these new additions to his arsenal only Torrent could outmatch him in raw power.

"Go and train." He ordered, glancing at each of his friends. "I'll be checking up on you every now and then. Don't leave the crater or stray too far. The onix here are too dangerous to battle without some backup."

His friends signaled their understanding before they went off to train. Dazed stayed near his side, watching the others leave with impassive eyes.

Ash turned to her with a grin. He could hear Nidoking lumbering towards him. "Well, we've got a lot to do. Let's get some training in."

XX

The next night and morning passed by much as the last had: After training, Ash followed Bruno back to the campsite and talked with him over dinner, he gagged down the black broth, and went to bed. There was one key difference, however. Since his friends weren't too badly beaten by the end of the day – with the notable exception of Bruiser, who had clear signs of battle all over his body – he let them sleep outside.

Most of them huddled around his tent. None of his friends were small enough to get in the shelter with him now that Tangela had evolved and he had thought earnestly about sleeping outside with them. Unfortunately it was simply too cold at night and Bruno, assisted by Ash's common sense, swiftly dissuaded him from that course of action.

Still, he was glad that he was close to his friends. It had been odd sleeping alone. At least he knew they were next to him now.

Infernus was the lone exception. While he did sleep outside and didn't stray too far, he did stay a few feet away from Ash's tent at all times. He didn't like being close to the others, and his body temperature was hot enough to make it uncomfortable anyways.

But Ash knew that Infernus was just as happy to be out at any of them. What he wasn't happy about was the duty Ash had imparted on him. While pokemon eggs could hatch at all but the most extreme temperatures and weren't negatively affected, they tended to hatch faster when exposed to heat. Heat that Infernus radiated.

He wasn't too happy about curling up with the egg at night, but Infernus didn't protest too much. Ash just thanked him and promised that he wouldn't have to stay with the egg after they left Mt. Hideaway. The climate was much gentler when they weren't sleeping on the peak of a mountain.

As he tried to sleep, Ash wondered just what was in the egg. It was definitely a black pokemon, so it would probably be a dark or ghost-type. There were a handful of other pure black pokemon, but most were foreign.

He could probably get it scanned at a Pokemon Center to see what was inside, but Ash didn't really want to do that. It was going to be a surprise, and he'd be happy no matter what he got. Ash thought it would be nice to have a baby on the team. He wouldn't bother trying to get it trained for the Indigo Conference, but it would definitely be ready to be a participant in the next Conference.

His last thoughts were of the egg. Even as he fell into unconsciousness, his mind still swam with questions about the ebony egg. He couldn't wait for it to hatch.

XX

"There's only one more move I think you need to learn." Ash announced to Torrent as he looked away from Bruiser. The fighting-type was duking it out with Tyrogue and Riolu, each putting their rudimentary training so far to the test. Bruiser was holding his own, although he did have more experience than the other two.

Torrent watched him with his regal scarlet eyes, waiting for Ash to continue. Ash grinned and showed Torrent his pokedex screen, which had been set to show a video of one very special, very powerful move.

"Draco Meteor." Ash stated as Torrent interestedly watched the video, his large form shadowing the pokedex enough for the video to be visible. Torrent blinked as a strange pokemon called a Garchomp that belonged to Champion Cynthia of Sinnoh glowed a bright orange and fired an iridescent ball of orange energy high into the air. It exploded into a dozen orbs of energy spheres that caused massive explosions to wrack the battlefield.

"It's one of the most powerful dragon-type moves in existence." Ash recited from the description of the pokedex. It was surprisingly obscure. He'd had to really look for it in the database. "It is enough to defeat almost any opponent, although it temporarily weakens an inexperienced wielder. But I think you're ready for it."

Torrent rumbled his agreement, determination burning in his eyes and stance. He was never one to back down from a challenge, and Ash knew that he would work as long as necessary to harness the incredible power behind Draco Meteor.

Ash backed away and began to speak. He'd memorized most of the instructions behind the attack last night. Hopefully that would be enough, although he would probably have to ask Professor Oak if Dragonite knew it. Torrent was strong and a quick learner, but dragon-type moves were complex. A real example would speed progress along considerably.

"It's similar to using Dragon Pulse, but to the next level." Ash began. Torrent listened on intently. He wasn't about to slack off, not with his discipline and this kind of reward at stake. "You've got to make the Pulse, but make it stronger and more intense. It'll take everything you've got. Try forming that orange energy ball first."

Torrent rumbled and waited until Ash walked away another few feet before he shut his eyes and focused. Nothing happened for a moment, but soon enough small particles of energy began to form in front of his snout. It was a much slower process than Dragon Pulse, but Ash smiled softly when he saw that some of the particles were the bright orange required for Draco Meteor. Most were the shining green of the Pulse, but it was a good start.

Suddenly, Torrent snapped his head up and fired the ball into the sky. Less than twenty feet up it exploded, sending a huge wave of force and energy through the air. Torrent levitated in front of Ash and took the worst of the blast, rumbling a bit as the draconic energy hurt him a bit.

"Thanks." Ash said as he patted Torrent's thick scales for a moment. Torrent rumbled back, although he seemed annoyed at the disastrous first attempt. "What went wrong?"

Torrent blinked and cocked his head. It was an expression that Ash knew meant that he had no idea.

"It was probably just bad luck." Ash told his friend encouragingly. "You got some of the energy you needed. I'll bet you'll have it down in no time."

The dragon-type seemed to smile at him with his wise eyes and nodded before levitating back to his former position. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate again.

Ash just watched, trying to find anything that might help Torrent. He knew his friend was capable of performing this attack. Torrent was strong and determined. It might take weeks of training, but he would get it down.

Ash would make sure of it.

XX

"Show me what you've got." Ash said with a grin. Infernus nodded back, his black eyes gleaming brightly. Flames erupted from his body as the fire-type stepped forward and spat a fireball. It was white-hot, tinged with impure orange flame. As it travelled, it five "limbs" of flame erupted from the front, appearing to take on one of the ancient symbols of Kanto. It was nothing more than a strange resemblance, but one that had gathered a bit of attention from researchers.

Unfortunately, the attack sputtered out a bit before it was supposed to explode. The bright flames died down, leaving nothing but embers that flickered through the air. Ash smiled. While it wasn't a success, it showed that Infernus was getting close to mastering the technique.

Infernus clenched his fists and angrily spat a huge column of flame into the sky. When it dissipated he appeared to have calmed down a bit, although he was still clearly annoyed with his failure. Ash knew that his friend normally mastered techniques in mere days, much like Torrent. He wasn't used to having difficulties.

"Again." Ash said soothingly. "Don't let your anger get in the way. Just focus on intensifying the flames and focusing the fire to your will."

The fire-type took a deep breath, causing the heat waves simmering from his body to slow for a moment. Small flames began to trickle down his body as he concentrated. Infernus suddenly reared his head back and prepared the attack.

Ash grinned as he suddenly let loose the powerful attack. He had been training with Infernus for two hours now and had seen Infernus' real problem: He was getting frustrated. Infernus had failed at the attack so many times now that, although he was still making progress, he was doing little more than releasing increasingly intense blasts of flame.

It had taken him a while, but he'd managed to calm the worst of Infernus' ire. His friend was remarkably calm now as he spat out a perfect Fire Blast, which roared through the air for nearly thirty feet before exploding in an impressive fireball.

"Great job!" Ash exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air. Fire blast was the most advanced technique most magmar were capable of learning, although there were other attacks and plenty of strategies Ash could still teach Infernus.

For his part, Infernus just seemed surprised. His eyes narrowed happily as he realized that he'd finally pulled it off. After weeks of training and solo practice, the fire-type had finally perfected the technique.

Infernus roared and stamped his foot, causing the earth around him to explode. Lava dribbled out of the torn earth, not nearly as much as Infernus would create in a real battle thanks to Ash's presence but still enough to get the point across. He looked up to the sky and spat two fire blasts into the air, the effort much simpler now that he had perfected it.

Ash just grinned and crossed his arms. Infernus had finally gotten past one of his few hurdles. They could focus more on actual combat now. Haze wouldn't be enough to carry them through the finals.

"You know, I think it's time we introduce a bit more variation." Ash said. Infernus' eyes glinted interestedly and he walked over to Ash. Small flames burned where he stepped, his elation so great that he failed to hold back his body temperature.

"Do you remember battling Alakazam?" He asked. The fire-type snorted a plume of flame, still bitter about his loss. Ash smiled. "That's what I thought. Let's get started on Faint Attack, then. It shouldn't be too hard to learn. You've got the right attitude for it, from what I hear."

Infernus' eyes seemed to smirk, and he drank in every word Ash said. Whatever someone that didn't know Infernus could say about his temperament, they could never say that he wasn't dedicated to growing stronger.

"There are two methods." Ash recited. "One is just the basic way, which is to go up and distract the target before hitting them. The second is more complicated, but I know you can do it. You'll have to use a variation on quick attack which will let you…"

Ash droned on for a bit more, glad that Infernus' attention never strayed. He didn't spend enough time with Infernus, he realized as he coached his friend on the process. He'd have to fix that.

Infernus deserved it.

XX

Tangrowth blinked at him.

Ash blinked back.

They were standing in the designated training area. Ash could see Bruiser battling Tyrogue in the background. The two had been fighting for nearly an hour, showing the incredible endurance fighting-types were known for.

"So, are you used to your body yet?" Ash asked slowly, making sure that Tangrowth would be able to keep up. His friend nodded excitedly, wrapping a few vines around him in a display of happiness. The trainer couldn't hold back a smile and patted one of his friend's rubbery arms. "I'm glad. You've been doing good these last few days, but I just wanted to make sure."

Tangrowth gurgled back a response. Ash laughed. "Alright, alright. You've been working hard these past few days, and it looks like you know most of the techniques that you can naturally learn. But you still don't know power whip. That'll give you an edge that not much can stand up against."

The grass-type blinked his agreement and waved his arms wildly. His eyes were bright and excited at the notion of learning a new attack. Ash nodded in a satisfied manner. If Tangrowth kept this enthusiasm up they'd be working on new techniques in no time.

"The method's a lot like vine whip." Ash explained, accentuating his words with hand motions. Tangrowth's wide eyes followed them interestedly. "You've just got to focus your energy into the strike. Do you understand?"

A fervent nod gave him his answer. "Alright, then. Use ancient power and pull a few rocks up. You'll need targets."

Tangrowth easily ripped a large wall of rock and earth from the ground. Ash ignored the dust that exploded around him. It was trivial, and he could just get Torrent to wash him off when they were done.

"Try it." Ash ordered. Tangrowth gurgled and extended two of his large vines. They twisted in the air for a moment before lashing towards the wall, each glowing an odd mixture of purple and green. Green was the predominant color, but at least Tangrowth was able to use the right kind of energy.

Despite the attack being an odd mix of vine whip and power whip, the attack still held enough power behind it to easily tear through the earthen wall, shattering the construct. Tangrowth quickly yanked his vines back, causing the remainder of the barrier to collapse into chunks of rock and dust.

Ash smiled. "Good work. Do it again."

Tangrowth determinedly followed Ash's command. The trainer smiled. This was his last day with Bruno, so he might as well make the most of it.

XX

"Bruiser is a fighting-type now." Bruno said proudly. Bruiser pounded his chest happily, excitement gleaming in his beady eyes as he met Ash's gaze. Ash smiled at him, just as proud as he was. "You have watched him as he became a fighter, a keen edge instead of a blunt surface."

Ash nodded. "Thank you. I could never have taught him how to meet his potential. We owe you."

"No." Bruno said sharply. "It is my duty to aid promising young trainers. Bruiser is strong and deserved a teacher. You are strong and needed one."

The man sat down on the hot, baked ground and motioned for Ash to do the same. They were in the crater, next to a large onix pit. Ash had returned Tangrowth and the others a few minutes ago once they were done training. It was getting dark and they needed to return to camp.

Bruno clasped his hands together as he met Ash's eyes with his serious gaze. Ash steadfastly returned it. "You have helped me as well. You are no martial artist, but you are a fighter. You survived the St. Anne and have defeated Rockets everywhere you go. You have the spirit of a fighter, just not the skill. While you are not amongst those destined to learn to fight with your body, you have learned to fight with your friends."

Ash nodded understandingly, noting that Bruno was doodling strange symbols in the dirt as he fell into a short silence. When he looked up and met Ash's eyes once more, he continued in a grave tone.

"You are not a fighter of my kind." Bruno said with a shake of his head. "But I have ensured that you know of the fighting-type and the philosophy and skills that drive it. Should you ever receive another fighting-type, Bruiser will not be its sole teacher. He shall teach it how to fight, but you shall teach it how to think."

"Thank you." He said earnestly. "I'll do my best to impart your teachings upon any fighters I come across."

Bruno smiled and dipped his head. "That is all I ask. I have given you knowledge and Bruiser skill. Use it and spread it. Allow everyone willing to listen to grow."

Ash returned the nod. Bruno had been a good teacher. Outside of making his body stronger through the long hike and climb they had to do every day just to get here from the camp, Bruno had made him think. He owed the Master at least that much.

"…After tomorrow we will not see each other again for a long time." Bruno began, a little bit of sadness creaking in his voice. "But one day, I fully expect to meet you on the battlefield."

"I'm looking forward to it." Ash smiled. He glanced over at Bruiser. The fighting-type had walked over to him and was now standing behind him. Riolu and Tyrogue were doing the same to Bruno. Machamp and Hitmonchan were far in the distance.

Bruno gazed off into the sunset before he pulled himself up. "We should return to camp." He smirked, an expression far out of place on the ordinarily humble Master's face. "We cannot part from each other without having a last bowl of the black broth."

The trainer grimaced as he pulled himself up. He wiped his dirty hands off on his pants. He'd enjoyed Bruno's training – aside from the knowledge he imparted upon Ash over supper, he'd shown Ash and his friends how to maximize their efficiency during battle and shortcuts on learning physical techniques – but the black broth was one thing that he'd never miss.

He walked after Bruno and wiped the disgusted expression off of his face. They would be parting in the morning. Ash wanted to make the most of the remaining time. There was no point in being sullen.

XX

Ash and Bruno stood side by side. The campsite had been cleaned up, although Bruno had simply put most of it into the cave and had Machamp seal it up with Rock Tomb. He'd said he would come back in a few months once the Rockets had been pushed back into hiding.

The sun was bright and hot as they looked out past the mountain. Kanto stood before them, happy and beautiful. Ash would enjoy traversing its forests again. Mt. Hideaway's harsh terrain and constant threat of being attacked by an onix didn't make it the most hospitable environment.

"What are you coming back here for?" Ash asked, breaking the peaceful silence. As far as he knew, Bruno didn't have any other pokemon in training. Riolu and Tyrogue had improved just as much as Bruiser had. Bruno had pushed them to their absolute limits.

"I didn't come here just to train Tyrogue and Riolu." Bruno stated, still looking out at the proud landscape. "There is a gigantic onix that lives around these parts."

Ash blinked. Bruno would have to be much more specific.

"The locals call it the King Under the Mountain." Bruno said, eyes glinting. "It is said to be centuries old, yet hasn't evolved. I am seeking it out. Even if it will not join me, I would be honored to battle it. The experience would be a reward in itself."

The trainer nodded in understanding. He could get that. So many people focused on finding rare, powerful pokemon and catching them. Sometimes just seeing them or battling them was worth it.

"Are you going straight to Celadon?" The trainer inquired. Bruno sighed and crossed his arms as he looked down at Ash.

"No. First I'm going to Indigo Plateau." Bruno told him, a fond note entering his words as he spoke of the Plateau. "I need to speak with Lance and assemble my pokemon. They have been training hard for this day. Ariana is one of the last Executives. After she falls, the Rockets will be scrambled for a week or so. That is when the League will strike."

It made sense. Team Rocket had lost at least three Executives in a matter of months: Petrel, Pierce, and soon, Ariana. Ash didn't know much about Team Rocket's organization, but Pierce at least must have been a hefty loss. That Metagross of his was practically undefeatable in a remotely fair fight.

As for Petrel…well, he seemed competent. Much more affable than Ash had expected of a Rocket Executive, but that ridiculous exterior hid an intelligent, calculating mind. He'd proved that much with his ambush.

And soon the Rockets would lose another leader. They couldn't keep up under that kind of strain. Soon they would fall and Kanto would finally be able to rest easy, free from the nightmare that had gnawed at its safety for the past decade.

Ash looked up at the massive man beside him. He had full confidence in his ability to singlehandedly wipe out a dozen Rocket hideouts, but still… "Good luck, Bruno."

Bruno smiled. "Thank you. But it is not needed." He glanced surreptiously over his shoulder to where Hitmonchan and Machamp were dutifully sparring with Tyrogue and Riolu, pretending that each of the blows from the younger pokemon did a great deal of damage. "Who needs luck when you have friends like these?"

The trainer couldn't hold back a smile. "True. Well, I guess I should be leaving now. It's a long way back to Pallet." He turned away, but hesitated. "I know you said it was your duty to help me, but thank you. You could have told Professor Oak to find someone else. Thanks for giving me a chance."

"I've heard a lot about you." Bruno said slowly. "Lance was impressed with your efforts in the Sevii Islands and Oak has been singing about you and his grandson ever since you two started out." A sudden grin broke out on his broad face. "What was it Agatha called you two after he wouldn't stop bragging? Ah, yes, the "Prodigies of Pallet". High praise from the Crone, no matter how sarcastic."

Ash glanced away, a little embarrassed. He and Gary were good, but they were no prodigies. Still, he couldn't help but feel a little bit of pride that Professor Oak was actually bragging about him. The Professor's praise was rare. Encouraging words were easy, but praise? That was difficult to come by.

"But I didn't decide to train you just for that." Bruno said. "You're skilled and your pokemon are strong, yes, but there are plenty of trainers with the same quality. What made me choose you was that you had something that not enough trainers possess these days: Friendship. From what the Professor told me, your pokemon are your brothers and sisters. There is great trust between you, and that is what will make you stronger than all others."

The trainer nodded. Bruno suddenly gave him a crooked smile. "Of course, you shouldn't let up on your training. Trust and brotherhood will not help you if you fool around all day. Continue to grow in every way, and you will truly be a match for any of the Elite Four."

Ash grinned with pride, his brown eyes sharp with determination. "I will, Bruno. You'll see me soon."

"Good!" Bruno said with a great, booming laugh. It echoed throughout the mountain, eliciting annoyed screeches from fearow and spearow. "I will be waiting."

The Master looked down at the land again once his laughter had died down. "It is time for us to part." He said gravely. "Remember Bruiser's training. He has the foundations, but he must fight in order to reach his full potential. I wish you luck."

"Thank you." Ash replied with a dip of his head. Bruno suddenly returned all of his pokemon. Riolu whined piteously before he was recalled. He released the familiar form of a Gallade. The trainer frowned at that. It looked like his suspicions about it being a fighting-type were correct.

"Normally I prefer to travel by land, but time is short." Bruno explained as Gallade became aware of its surroundings. The pokemon bowed to Bruno before standing up and awaiting the Master's orders. "Gallade, please teleport me to Indigo Plateau."

Gallade's eyes flashed a brilliant white, but there was no burst of light before the two disappeared from the lonely mountain. Ash sighed and stared at the empty space for a few seconds. Bruno had taught him a lot, even if most of it was more philosophy than real battling. Knowledge was knowledge, however, and he knew much more than he had before.

Before he started the long trek down the mountain and towards Pallet, Ash dug around in his pack for something and released Bruiser. His friend had improved greatly under the Master's tutelage and deserved something to demonstrate his new skill.

Bruiser lowered his head in respect to Ash. Ash returned the favor. "Bruiser, you've learned a lot. As Bruno would say, you're a fighting-type now. You use skill to accentuate your power, not just brute strength. So I figured you deserved something to prove it."

He revealed the object in his hands: a smooth, long length of black cloth. Bruiser's eyes widened at the sight, somehow knowing just what it was. The fighting-type didn't try to take it.

"This is a black belt." Ash recited, remembering the Dojo Master's words from months ago. "It is a sign of your strength, and has been worn by many powerful fighting-types over the years." His voice dropped the official tone, changing to a proud one. "You've become strong in more than just the body. You trained under a member of the Elite Four and he found you worthy. So take the belt. You earned it."

Bruiser took the belt with a hand that trembled with excitement. His large, grey skin was a light contrast to the black belt. He examined it carefully with his beady eyes, taking in every fiber woven into the belt.

When his examination was complete, Bruiser frowned. He didn't place it on or around his power belt, but instead tied it around his neck. Ash looked at him oddly. "Do you not like it?"

The fighter frantically shook his head. Ash frowned at that, but his eyes lit up in understanding moments later. "You don't think you're worthy of it, do you?"

Bruiser nodded, a worried grimace distorting his features. Ash smiled softly. "It's alright, Bruiser. Just keep it until you think you're worthy to wear it. If you think you aren't ready then it's your choice." He sent a friendly glance at his friend. "But for myself, I think you've earned it."

Ash smiled as his friend pounded his chest proudly, taking care not to hit the loop of black cloth wrapped loosely around his neck. Bruiser dipped his head once more to Ash as the trainer glanced out over the rugged terrain. "We should get moving. I want to get back to Pallet as soon as possible."

The machoke grunted his understanding and followed the trainer as Ash carefully began to walk down from the peak, glad that Bruno had made a somewhat traversable trail. It would have been impossible to get up and down from the peak otherwise.

He made sure to go a bit faster than usual. Ash and his pokemon had grown stronger under Bruno's tutelage. While most of the Master's attention had been reserved for Bruiser, he had allowed Ash's friends to spar with his pokemon and had lent helpful advice every now and then. This trip hadn't been a dramatic improvement for any but Bruiser and Tangrowth, but they'd all grown in small ways.

That improvement made Ash certain of one thing: He was ready to face the Viridian Gym.

Giovanni awaited him.

XX

It was raining when he arrived home. Nothing major, just a slight drizzle. Still, it made Ash feel rather glum. He was tired from the four days he'd spent on the road. The return home had been about a day shorter than it had taken him to reach Mt. Hideaway. For one, he didn't spend an entire day battling in a tournament.

Ash couldn't hold back a smile at the thought of the town. He'd been welcomed at the Pokemon Center and people had recognized him in the streets. The attention was a little uncomfortable at first, but he could easily live with it. It was nice having people recognize his abilities.

Torrent rumbled at him questioningly when Ash smiled. He'd released the water-type when it started raining. Nidoking didn't like the rain, and Ash didn't want his first friend to feel uncomfortable in the least.

"It's nothing." He replied, glancing over at the large dragon. "Just thinking."

His friend rumbled his understanding and grew quiet again. They remained in a companionable silence as they walked through the deserted streets of Pallet. Most people were either working or staying home during the dreary weather.

Ash pulled out his PokeNav and glanced at the time. It was a bit after noon, so that meant that his mother was probably at Professor Oak's for lunch. He sighed and glanced over at his small house when he passed by. The rain was picking up, and he really didn't want to spend more time in it than necessary.

He shrugged his annoyance off and released Dazed. Her eyes frowned at him, slightly unhappy with him for releasing her while it was raining. Ash rolled his eyes, although he had a wide grin on his face as he saw his friend. They didn't get to spend time together while they travelled except at night or when they battled. Dazed wasn't able to keep up with him on the road.

"Could you teleport us up to Professor Oak's house?" He requested politely. Dazed nodded. Her eyes flashed briefly before they suddenly appeared outside the venerable Professor's laboratory. "Thanks, Dazed. You want to go back in your pokeball now?"

Dazed shook her head stiffly, glaring up at the grey sky. Her eyes burned as a shell of bright blue energy formed over her head, the psychic shield protecting her furred form from the annoying drops of water. Ash laughed and shook his head before ringing the doorbell.

"Torrent, do you want to stay out here?" Ash asked as he waited on someone to answer. Torrent nodded and bowed his head thankfully. The trainer knew his friend loved being in the rain. It wasn't as good as being in water, but it still refreshed the water-type.

He was distracted when the door opened. Professor Oak glanced down at him. "Ash! It's good to see you. Come in!"

Ash grinned back and followed the Professor into the warm, cozy house. He held the door open for Dazed as she shuffled in, glancing about the familiar room critically. The trainer swiftly followed Oak into the dining room, where his mother sat with a half-eaten plate of steaming food.

"Ash!" His mother exclaimed when he walked through the door. Ash barely had time to take a breath before his mom barreled towards him and wrapped him up in a tight hug. He returned it as best he could. A few seconds later his mother pulled back, although she kept her hands on his shoulders. "I've missed you so much! How was your trip?"

The trainer grinned. "Great! I won a tournament in Dandra, and I got to train with Bruno!"

His mother blinked and her jaw dropped open in surprise. Ash smiled when he saw Professor Oak in the background, a pleased smile on his face. "Bruno of the Elite Four?"

"Yes." He replied still grinning wildly. His mother couldn't seem to say anything. Ash had told her about Steven and Lance, but he didn't think she could ever bring herself to really believe it. It was pretty amazing, after all. "But that's not all."

He reached into his pack and pulled out the egg. Ash gently set the hard shell on the table. His mother stared at the egg and gently picked it up, examining it carefully. Professor Oak had a similar reaction. Ash knew that Oak's specialty wasn't eggs, but the man still had an astounding amount of knowledge about them.

"Oh, I know what this is!" His mother said happily. She was running her finger down the smooth surface carefully, smiling at the egg. "It's a –"

"Don't tell me." Ash interrupted quickly. His mother looked at him oddly.

"Don't you want to know what it is?"

Ash shook his head. "I want it to be a surprise. I don't want my opinion to be colored by knowing what's inside. I just want everything to go along naturally."

Oak smiled at him. "I understand. Some of my old training friends did the same." He sighed and looked past Ash. "I never got to raise an egg. It's something I regret. Hatching and raising a pokemon is a highly educational experience. You bond with it in a special way. I'm sure that you'll learn a lot."

The trainer nodded. He could definitely see that. But he was surprised that Professor Oak had never hatched an egg before. The Professor had a long career as a trainer, although Ash had never heard just how far the man had gone. It was kept quiet, and Ash had never had the opportunity to really look for Oak's legacy. But if his incredibly powerful pokemon were any indication, Oak had won at least one Conference.

He picked the egg up, but nearly dropped it when it suddenly shook a bit. Ash gently placed it on the wooden table and watched carefully, a grin raising across his face.

His hopes were suddenly dashed by Professor Oak.

"It's not hatching." The researcher told him. Ash glanced over, confused. "I'd say it's relatively close to hatching, but eggs often shake when touched. The shaking will become more frequent as the hatching date grows closer."

Ash frowned, a little disappointed. He'd been hoping that the egg would hatch. He wanted to see what his newest teammate was.

"By the way, make sure to call me when it hatches." Oak told him. Ash nodded as he gently placed the egg back into his pack. It shivered again, although it was more of a twitch than real movement. "I can temporarily add an additional slot to your Trainer ID. Because of the importance of guiding and maintaining a close bond with a hatched pokemon, you are allowed to bring it along with the rest of your team."

That made sense. Ash remembered reading something about that in the trainer handbook. Young pokemon needed some sort of parental figure in their lives, and it was best for a trainer to supervise their growth.

"If you need any tips, I'll be glad to help!" His mother chimed in. Ash smiled gratefully at her. She was never a trainer herself, but she knew a lot. Now that he thought about it, she'd probably helped to hatch a few eggs herself. "Now, sit down. You must be hungry after being on the road."

Surprisingly enough, Ash shook his head. "I ate an hour ago." He explained. "I wasn't sure if the rain would pick up, so I wanted to eat lunch just in case."

As he sat down, his mother asked him another question. "So, what was training with Bruno like? I've heard a lot about him."

"It was intense." Ash recalled, tapping his chin with his finger. Oak slid into the seat next to his mother. "He gave me a few tips and a lot of advice, but I didn't actually train with him that much. Bruno spent most of his time with Bruiser and taught me how to train him. A lot of it was him explaining the fighting-type to me."

"That sounds like Bruno." Oak said with a fond smile. "His passion is fighting-type pokemon. He realized that you had no idea how to train Bruiser, but at least he could pass his teachings on. Bruno is far more than he appears."

Ash flashed back to their long conversations, especially the ones about the mysterious energy Bruno used. He'd told Ash a lot about it and had peaked the trainer's interest. Maybe when he had time he'd look for a teacher. It would be amazing if he could do half the feats Bruno could perform.

"Thanks for sending me to him, Professor." Ash said with a thankful grin. "I learned a lot. Bruiser would never have been as strong as he could have been otherwise. Now I can actually help him."

"You're a good trainer." Oak replied. "You needed help with Bruiser and you've helped Kanto quite a bit lately. The very least I could do was to get you a proper teacher."

His mother frowned at the mention of his battles against the Rockets. "So, where are you going next? I know that you said that you were going to Viridian City, but don't you want to go to another gym first? It would be good practice." She said, trying to divert the conversation away from where it was headed.

"No." Ash told his mother. A mournful shadow flickered over her features, so fast that Ash barely caught it. He frowned at that, but didn't say anything. "I beat Sabrina. None of the other gym leaders could pose a challenge. I want to beat Giovanni so I can start training for the Conference."

She didn't say anything to that. A few seconds later she spoke up. "Alright. When do you think you'll leave?"

"As soon as possible." Ash said without hesitation.

"That won't be possible." Oak said suddenly, a frown on his tan face. "The gym leader has taken a few days off. Gary is waiting there now. I'll tell you when you can head off."

That was odd. Gym leaders generally didn't take time off, or at least had a substitute while they were gone. While it was probably more lax in Viridian since Giovanni only got a few dozen challengers the entire year it still didn't make sense. The League probably wasn't very happy with Giovanni.

"I guess I'll spend a few more days training, then." Ash shrugged. It wasn't as though he was in a huge hurry. There were months before the Conference. Suddenly, something Oak said struck him. "Wait, Gary's challenging Giovanni?"

Professor Oak scowled. "Yes." He said shortly. "He believes that Blastoise will carry him through. Gary's a strong trainer, but I don't believe he's faced off against enough powerful trainers to match Giovanni. I'm afraid that one of his pokemon will be hurt. Giovanni is not a kind foe."

Ash frowned when another brief flash of emotion went across his mother's face. He'd have to get the story eventually. His mother didn't seem comfortable around the subject of the Viridian gym. It was odd, but he wouldn't pressure her until he had more of a reason.

"I've started planning for him." Ash revealed. Neither of the adults looked surprised. Oak had helped him a bit before, but Ash had looked up one of Giovanni's battles in the pokedex database. He seemed to stick to just a few pokemon, so Ash felt comfortable in his strategy. "It's like this –"

They spent another hour talking about his next gym challenge and Ash's journey. Ash spent a while talking to his mother. He'd missed her.

Finally, they left Oak's house. The rain had died down a bit, so Ash was fine with walking to his own home. Besides, that meant that he might get to see Plume and Seeker.

XX

Just as Ash's home entered his vision, he heard a loud shriek. Ash glanced up into the air and grinned as he saw the massive form of a great bird hurtling towards him, the shadow large enough to cover a huge amount of land.

Plume slammed into the ground in front of him, tearing the muddy road apart with the force she landed with. She awkwardly hopped over to him and lightly pecked him on the shoulder, taking care to avoid hurting him. The pidgeot cooed happily as Ash gently stroked her crest in greetings.

"Plume!" He exclaimed with a grin. "I missed you! How have you been?"

His mother smiled and mouthed that she was going inside. Ash distractedly nodded as Plume happily shrieked and lightly butted her head into him, sending him stumbling back a bit. It looked like she'd had a good few days, although she clearly missed him.

"That's nice." He said softly. Plume cooed again and excitedly hopped around. Her sharp talons absolutely destroyed the soft, wet ground but Ash couldn't find it in himself to care. He'd missed Plume. Ash hated being away from any of his friends. "So, did you get along with seeker alright?"

Plume chirped. Ash construed it as a yes. "That's great! Did anything exciting happen?"

She shook her head. Ash hadn't exactly expected anything, but it was always worth asking. Arcanine did too good a job keeping harmony in the Corral for anything to go wrong.

"Listen, I've got to go inside but I'll be out in just a few minutes, alright?" He patted her side gently. She nodded and fluffed up her wings. "Good, good. See you in a bit."

Plume called after him happily as he made his way to his house. He could see that his mother was just walking in. Ash glanced over at Dazed. She nodded at Plume in greetings and plodded after Ash as he began the trek. The psychic-type seemed a bit annoyed at the mud that was plastering her feet. She'd probably use psychic to clean it off later.

In just a minute he arrived at the door. Ash absentmindedly wiped his feet off before he walked in and held the door open for Dazed. She shuffled in and moved to a corner. The trainer glanced at her as he walked in, but a small ball of blue fur suddenly slammed into his chest.

Ash blinked in surprise as he was knocked back a step and glanced down at Seeker, who was cuddling into his chest. She was chattering excitedly and lightly butting her head into him. His mouth curved upwards and he lightly scratched behind his friend's ears.

"Hey, Seeker." He said softly. She glanced up at him with blind eyes and chattered happily. "Were you good?"

She hissed indignantly, just as she had when he'd posed the same question before he'd left. Ash laughed again. "I know. You're always good. Did you get along well with Plume?"

Seeker chattered some more. Her small, soft ears were twitching excitedly. Ash smiled again and stroked her furry back. She shivered happily and dug in closer to his chest.

"Bruiser learned a lot." He murmured. Seeker glanced up confusedly. "He's always been strong, but now he knows how to use that strength. Do you want to see him?"

The zubat clicked an affirmative. Ash grinned as he released the large fighting-type. Bruiser's eyes lit up when he saw Seeker. He dipped his head to Ash in thanks before gently picking Seeker up from Ash's chest.

"Have fun catching up." Ash told the duo. Bruiser nodded. "I'll be back in a few minutes. I've got to check up on Plume."

Ash walked away from the two with a smile on his face. Watching the two friends was always heartwarming. Most of his friends got along with each other and liked each other, but Bruiser and Seeker had the closest friendship out of the bunch. Hopefully the rest of his friends would gain a bond like that as time went on.

He took one last glance at the two before walking out the door. There was a lot to get done, and he'd like to see a bit more of their friendship before he started training for Giovanni. They only had a few days, and Ash wanted to be completely ready before facing the most powerful gym leader in Indigo.

XX

Ash glanced down in surprise when he heard a loud beeping coming from his belt. He unclipped his PokeNav and glanced down at the screen. Professor Oak was calling him. Now that his interest was piqued, Ash quickly flipped the device open and answered the message.

"Hey." He replied, a little surprised. It had been two days since he'd returned to Pallet. Ash hadn't expected any news from the Professor this quickly. Tangrowth waddled over from his training and peered into the screen curiously. "Sorry, Tangrowth, but I need to talk to Professor Oak."

Tangrowth gurgled understandingly and tapped Ash on the forehead before walking away. Ash smiled and watched as he went over to continue sparring with Bruiser. They'd just started training an hour ago. It was nowhere near as intense as when they'd trained at Mt. Hideaway. Their training was more of maintenance, really.

"Ah, hello, Ash." Oak greeted. He was in his lab. Ash could see the Corral's wide open fields in the background. "I have good news. Giovanni returned to his gym last night. I just received the message from my contacts in the League."

Ash grinned. "Thanks, Professor. I'll head back to my house right now. Does my mom know?"

"No." The Professor shook his head. "She hasn't come over for lunch yet. Do you want me to call her?"

"I'll tell her." Ash told him. "I'm not sure how long I'll be gone. I need to say goodbye before I head off."

The Professor smiled. Ash caught a hint of sadness before Oak said his goodbyes. "Good luck, Ash. Tell me how it goes."

"I will." Ash promised. A moment later the screen went black. He quickly folded it back up and clipped it onto his belt. The trainer glanced out at his friends. They were completely focused on his training, although Bruiser was taking a breather. Even he wasn't immune to the stresses of training. Seeker had stayed at the house. The sun and heat were too great for her today. "Hey, we're leaving! I'm returning you now."

His friends immediately stopped training and stood still, making it all the easier for them to be returned. Ash only left Dazed out of her ball. She stared at him with sleepy eyes and cocked her head, relatively certain of Ash's request.

Ash confirmed her suspicions with his next words. "Dazed, do you mind teleporting me to my house?"

She nodded tightly and shuffled over to him. Her eyes were showed a hint of dislike at the thought of teleporting, but Ash knew she didn't mind teleporting him too much. He made sure to thank her each time, though. Dazed hadn't evolved to warp space and time with her mental powers. It required far more effort than it would otherwise.

They vanished in a brief flash of light. It forced Ash to blink. When he opened his eyes back up, he found himself inside of his house. Dazed smiled at him with her expressive eyes before shuffling to the corner, where she could keep a tight watch on everything.

"Thanks, Dazed." Ash said offhandedly to his friend. She blinked at him before staring at the bright light that lit up the room. He turned to the rest of his house. "Mom! Are you here?"

"Coming!" His mother's cheery voice called out from her room. She walked into the living room a few seconds later with a wide smile on her face. "Ash, I thought you were training for the rest of the day?" His mother grew worried. "Did something happen?"

Ash shook his head and raised his hands in a calming motion. "No, no. Everyone's fine. Professor Oak just called and told me that Giovanni went back to Viridian. I wanted to tell you that I'm leaving soon."

A flicker of unease passed over his mother's face, so fast that Ash wasn't even sure if he'd seen it. While her face returned to its normal happy smile, her voice seemed a little choked up. "Of course! I'll pack a lunch. It's a short journey to Viridian, but you shouldn't have to eat those trainer meals."

"Thanks." Ash said with a grin. He'd gotten used to the bland, flavorless meals that most trainers bought, but it was always nice to get something else. He could easily afford good food now, but most of it would spoil over the long duration of his expeditions. Trainer Meals weren't bad and they lasted practically forever. "I'll go pack, then."

He heard his mother heading to the kitchen as he jogged up the stairs. Dazed lazily teleported up behind him. Ash smiled at her and held the door to his room open for the psychic-type. She didn't like not being able to watch him.

Ash hurriedly put all of the necessities into his pack. Most of his things were already packed, but some things like his toothbrush weren't. He'd made sure to be able to leave at a moment's notice.

Before he left, he went over and pulled his trophies from their hiding place. Dazed paused in polishing her stone pendulum when Ash pulled out the shard of the Moon Stone. He smiled at the inky stone. It had given Nidoking all the power he deserved, just as the massive, golden Dragon Scale had for Torrent.

He sighed and placed them both back. Eventually he'd have to get a case for them. They shouldn't be sitting in his drawer for the next few years. Ash stood up and shouldered his pack. Dazed shuffled after him until they reached the stairs, where she quickly teleported to the bottom.

When he walked into the kitchen, his mother was humming an unfamiliar tune as she finished packing a few sandwiches. He patiently waited for her to finish. She turned around and smiled at him when she realized that he was there before returning to her task silently.

Suddenly a small blue ball of fur slammed into his chest. He coughed and glanced down at Seeker, who was relentlessly clutching to his jacket. She chattered sadly at him.

"I'll miss you too." He said remorsefully to her. Seeker buried her blind face into his chest. Ash gently scratched behind her soft ears, making her grow a bit lax. "But I'm leaving Bruiser behind for a few days. I'll need him for my gym battle, but until then he's yours."

Seeker wriggled happily at that. Ash grinned and took Bruiser's pokeball off of his belt so he could release the powerful fighting-type. His friend pounded his thick chest and bowed his head to Ash in respect when he saw him. The zubat happily fluttered over to Bruiser and climbed onto his back. Ash could see her small head peeking out from behind Bruiser's.

"You heard we're going to Viridian, right?" Ash asked. Bruiser nodded. "I'm leaving you here until the battle. I know you haven't had much of a chance to catch up with Seeker over the last few days. Just make sure to keep up with your training." He grinned. "We don't want Bruno's training going to waste, do we?"

Bruiser made a grunt that Ash construed as a laugh and nodded. He dipped his head to Ash once more before walking out of the room with Seeker. She turned back and chattered a goodbye to Ash before vanishing into the rest of the house.

Ash watched the two friends fondly for a few moments before his mother tapped his shoulder.

"Here's your lunch!" She said as she handed him the wrapped up sandwiches. Ash quickly placed them into the storage compartment where he kept his food. The second he was done doing that, he was wrapped into a crushing hug. "Good luck." His mother said quietly. Ash idly realized that he was as tall as she was now. "I know you can win."

"I will." Ash promised, pulling back and meeting his mother's eyes. "But I'm going to be gone a while."

His mother furrowed her brow curiously. "Why?" A dawning sense of realization made its way onto her face. "You aren't coming back to Pallet, are you?"

"No." Ash said with a frown. He felt a lump in his throat. He'd plotted out the rest of his journey and was glad to get back into travelling, but it had been nice seeing his mother so often. He would miss her. "After I beat Giovanni I'm going to go back through the gym circuit. The gym leaders want rematches and I want to oblige them. There's a lot I need to do before the Conference."

"I understand." His mom told him quietly. She hugged him again, taking Ash off guard. He managed to return it, though, even if his arms were practically locked to his sides. "Stay safe, sweetie."

Ash stepped back and dipped his hat in acknowledgement. "I will." He promised as he adjusted his pack. Ash was quiet as he walked to the door. "…Bye, Mom. I'll see you soon."

His mother gave him a teary smile. "I know." It took on a slightly more mischievous shape, and Ash grimaced. He knew what she was about to say. "And remember to change your under—"

He was out the door before she could finish the joke, although Ash couldn't keep a small smile off of his face.

XX

Ash stood at the gates of Pallet Town. He hadn't been here since the first day of his journey, when he'd started off with just Nidoran and his two travelling companions. The trainer spared a moment of thought for his human friends, wondering just where they were.

He hoped they'd gotten as good as he had. When they met again, Ash wanted a challenge. Jonathan had a gyarados, at least. Maybe that would be a good battle for one of his friends that wasn't Nidoking.

As he thought of his friend, he released Nidoking. The poison-type growled happily at the sight of him and gently tapped Ash on the shoulder. His friend had gotten better at controlling his strength, but it still made Ash's knees buckle.

"Hey, buddy." Ash grinned. He patted Nidoking on his leathery, muscular chest. Nidoking rumbled at the contact. "Sorry we haven't gotten to talk that much lately. Do you want to stay out with me? Plume's watching us, so we don't have to be too paranoid."

Nidoking smiled, exposing his long, powerful fangs. His ears, which were the same size as they had been as Nidoran but were much more normal relative to his bulky frame, twitched happily. He stamped on the ground and sent a few trembles through it for good measure. It made Ash think a bit of Infernus.

"Sounds good." Ash replied with a laugh. He grew a bit more sober. "Do you remember the first time we were here? It feels like it was so long ago."

The poison-type grunted in agreement. A bit of nostalgia swirled through his sharp, narrow eyes. Nidoking gave the gates a long look before stepping forward, grunting insistently as he did so.

"You're right. We should get a move on." Ash said as he glanced up at the sky. Plume was circling high above them, barely a dot in the bright sun. He'd switched her pokeball with Bruiser's. He missed Plume. She would be staying with them until at least Viridian City, and he'd likely take her through the Viridian Forest. Her skills and navigational abilities were invaluable in the dense maze of a forest.

With that he stepped forward and began the next step of his journey.

Giovanni awaited him.

XX

The trip was about a day shorter than it had been the first time he'd gone to Viridian. He was more experienced now and he wasn't horribly sore, which was always a plus. It was strange seeing the first steps of his journey through more experienced eyes. What had seemed a vast and insurmountable distance before was just another few days of walking now.

He recognized quite a few landmarks from his days as a newbie trainer: the area where the group had made their first campsite, where he'd beaten Misty the first time, even where he'd first met Plume. Ash smiled at that memory. Plume had swept down from the air when they'd passed over it and terrified the pidgey and spearow roosting in the tree that was practically sacred to her. She'd taken the exact same position as she had when they'd first met and peered down her beak at Ash with faux arrogance.

Ash had laughed and asked her if she wanted to battle again. Plume had ruffled her feathers disdainfully and hopped down to the ground so that she could lightly peck Ash's shoulder. It was still a little sore and his clothes were still dirty from when she took off and created a dust cloud.

The trainer had even recognized the place where he'd been chased by the spearow and fearow. It was a fairly distinctive campsite set up by the League, so it wasn't too hard to identify. Ash had frowned at the memories of being so weak he'd had to have help to protect himself from a flock of spearow. He'd grown a lot since then.

He had idly wondered what had happened to fearow. Ash hadn't thought to ask Michael when he'd last seen him in between Celadon and Saffron all those months ago. It wasn't really important, but it would have been nice to know.

But now he had reached something that he would always remember: the gates of Viridian. They were large and thick, mostly to keep any of the aggressive pokemon competing for mates outside during mating season. Pokemon never killed anyone, but their attempts to show off their strength constantly resulted in major property damage and some minor injuries amongst the populace.

Since it wasn't breeding season, there were only a few guards on the walls. Viridian City was notoriously hard on crime and had completely driven out Team Rocket and other organized crime groups within its famous walls. The police and guards that would ordinarily be watching for frenzied pokemon were probably focused within the small city now.

Ash gave a polite nod to the lone policeman standing outside the walls and returned Nidoking. The guard returned the nod after that and motioned for him to go on through.

He had never gone to the Pokemon Center in Viridian City, but he knew where it was thanks to the PokeNav maps. Like most major cities, Viridian's Pokemon Center was just a few minutes in. Ash took in the sights eagerly as he made his way to the Center.

Viridian City was one of the oldest cities in Kanto, but amongst the great cities that held the major gyms it was one of the smallest. While a respectable size, Viridian City had no massive skyscrapers like Saffron or the sheer size and sprawling suburbs of Celadon. If Ash had to pick, he'd say it was more similar to Fuschia than anywhere else.

While Viridian wasn't quite as ancient or isolated as Fuschia, it boasted a similar heritage of defending Indigo Plateau, was only accessible through the south from Pallet and the surrounding areas, west from Indigo Plateau, and north from the dangerous Viridian forest. It was practically inapproachable from the east, thanks to a small, rugged mountain chain and dense forests. There was a route that allowed Celadon to be accessed, but it was dangerous and only accessible to trainers who had six gym badges or could prove their strength.

Ash shook himself out of his thoughts as he walked up to the Pokemon Center. It was of a similar elegant style to the buildings around it. He thought it was odd that it largely rejected the standard of Pokemon Centers, but didn't think on it too much. The Center was probably just old.

He didn't bother going to the front desk first. There was a line already and he wanted to get his pokemon switched out. If everything worked out, he planned on challenging Giovanni today.

The trade room was practically empty, which was somewhat of a surprise considering that the lobby was filled. Ash quickly sat down at one of the computers and dialed Professor Oak. While he waited, Ash released Plume so he could say goodbye.

She would be able to avoid the ground-type attacks Giovanni commonly utilized, but she just lacked the offensive power to battle the hardy and heavy ground-types. Plume just didn't have the right skills to deal damage. They'd already discussed this on the journey over, and she knew it was true.

"Hey, girl." He said with a smile. Plume playfully nipped at him, although he swerved back at the last second. "You ready?"

Plume nodded. She liked the Corral quite a bit, Ash knew, although she would rather be him. At least this wasn't a punishment for her.

Professor Oak suddenly connected. He already had Bruiser's pokeball in hand. Ash was glad that he'd called Professor Oak just before he arrived at the city limits. It really sped the process up.

"Hello, Ash!" The Professor said with his standard greetings. "How is your journey coming along?"

Ash smiled. "Pretty good. I'm going to go get a room at the Center and then I'm heading off to face Giovanni."

"I know I've said this a lot lately, but good luck." Professor Oak said earnestly. He placed Bruiser's pokeball into the trader machine. Ash almost did the same with Plume, but hesitated. "Giovanni is a brutal battler. You will face injuries, but I'm sure you can overcome him. You are strong, your pokemon are strong, and your will is strong."

"Thank you." Ash said as he bowed his head. He glanced at Plume before he recalled her. "I'll have you back in no time at all. I won't be letting you run away from me again for a long time." He said teasingly.

Plume chirped happily and cocked her head at him before he recalled her. He stared at the smooth metal of the pokeball for a moment before placing it into the trading machine. The pokeball briefly glowed a bright white before vanishing. Bruiser's replaced it.

He met Oak's eyes and nodded thankfully as he clipped Bruiser's pokeball to his belt. Oak smiled and nodded back before the screen cut off.

Ash made sure the pokeball was secure before he walked out of the trading room, leaving the large, black screens and their computers behind. He glanced over at the front desk and noticed that the line had disappeared.

"How may I help you?" Nurse Joy asked as he walked up to the desk. Ash smiled at her and dipped his hat before responding.

"I just need a room." He said politely. Much to his surprise, Nurse Joy frowned.

"I'm sorry." She said apologetically. Ash noted that she was very flustered. "But all of our rooms are full. We've had a huge influx of trainers for some reason. I'm so sorry!" Nurse Joy said very quickly.

Ash shook his head and held back. "It's fine." He replied. "Thanks for helping me out."

Nurse Joy smiled guiltily at him. "I really am sorry. I could try to find you alternative housing if you'd like. There are a few families that will be more than happy to let you stay with them for a night or two."

"No, thank you." Ash said quickly. "I've got it under control. Again, thanks for your help."

With that, he said goodbye to Nurse Joy and walked out of the Center. He wasn't sure if he would be coming back in an hour not. There was a certain someone in Viridian that would probably let him stay for a night, but he wasn't sure.

XX

He eventually made his way to Jessica's house. Ash remembered the general area of it, so it wasn't too hard to narrow it down. A few helpful sets of directions from sympathetic strangers had led him right to the small, drab house.

Ash felt a little awkward as he walked up the worn wooden steps. He'd met Jessica a lot in Pallet – it was such a small town that everyone knew each other at least a bit, even if it was only on sight – but didn't really know her. The age difference hadn't exactly made them stay in contact.

The trainer glanced at the sleek, powerful Persian that hissed at him as he knocked on the door. It lazed happily in the sun, one eye slit open so that it could see Ash. While it was too lazy to actually do anything without Ash posing a threat, Ash could see just how dangerous it could be. Persian were naturally aggressive to anyone they considered weak, and the long, sharp claws the specimen in front of him was carelessly exposing bespoke of incredible strength.

"Persian, stop that!" A kind, yet stern, voice chided as Jessica opened up the door. "I'm sorry about him. He's usually not this bad-tempered." Jessica suddenly realized who she was looking at. "Ash? What are you doing here?"

Ash scratched the back of his neck, a little embarrassed. "The Pokemon Center ran out of space. So I was just wondering –"

"Sure!" Jessica exclaimed. "You can stay for as long as you want. I haven't had company in a while. I guess you're here to battle Giovanni?"

Ash followed her in, but was butted out of the way by Persian. It glanced back at him with the closest it could get to a smirk on its face. The trainer frowned back as the arrogant feline strutted behind its trainer. He watched curiously as the Unown he'd seen last time whizzed through the room, emitting a strange humming noise.

"Uno, calm down!" Jessica said softly. Uno hummed some more before flying out of the room. She turned to Ash "So, it's been a while. What's your team looking like?"

That made a grin spread on his face. "Nidoking, Pidgeot, Kingdra, Hypno, Magmar, Machoke, Tangrowth, and Zubat."

"Huh, the zubat kind of sticks out." Jessica commented as she took a seat. "Nice team, though. Especially for how long you've been training. How'd you get a Kingdra, though? Those things are way too expensive to buy, and I haven't even seen a Dragon Scale on the market."

"I helped some people out." Ash said simply. He trusted Jessica, but he wasn't about to go into the operations at the Sevii Islands.

Jessica rolled her eyes. "Alright, thanks for going in-depth." She leaned forward and took on a serious tone. "Look, I'll let you go battle Giovanni – the nasty piece of work – soon. I just want to know what happened on the St. Anne. Amelia and Jon have only called twice since then, and I'm worried about them."

"I don't know what they're doing. We were split up after the St. Anne was destroyed. I haven't seen them since." Ash said stonily, the subject of the St. Anne – _falling into the freezing ocean, watching the great ship be neatly sliced in half and condemned to the depths of the sea, rushing water_ – causing him to tighten up. "I don't have a way to contact them."

"Thanks." Jessica sighed, a troubled look on her face. "Sorry you had to go through that. I watched the stories on it – that's awful. So many people just…gone. I'm glad you got out of that mess."

Ash just nodded. There was nothing to say. "Could I leave my pack in the guest room?"

"Sure." Jessica muttered, looking as though her mind was somewhere far away from the cramped living room. "Good luck with your gym battle. I never managed to beat Giovanni."

"Thanks." Ash said before he departed. He didn't feel like talking much. The St. Anne wasn't something to remember.

The guest room was fairly easy to find in the small house, even if he barely remembered it. He smiled at the Leafeon that was curled up on the bed. It looked like the Eevee that had been sleeping there that night had evolved. The trainer was careful not to wake it as he slid his pack under the bed, old habits refusing to die.

He briskly walked out of Jessica's house and pulled out his PokeNav. It gave him directions through Viridian's maze of streets and would lead him directly to the gym.

Ash had a scowl on his face and a blaze of fire in his eyes. Maybe it was the bad mood he'd been put in, but he wanted to beat Giovanni now more than ever. He just wanted to win and leave this city.

XX

"Identification, please." A tall, broad-shouldered man said. He was polite but firm. Three pokeballs hung on his belt, each ready to be used at a moment's notice.

Ash showed him his pokedex ID, assuming that word of mouth wouldn't be enough. The guard glanced at it with hard eyes and scribbled something onto a clipboard before motioning for Ash to go through. "Good luck."

The trainer nodded his thanks to the man as he passed through the checkpoint. For some reason Viridian City had become extremely paranoid. No other gym required going through a security gate to pass. Perhaps they were wary of Team Rocket's retribution. Giovanni had been vicious when dealing with the group and had run them out of Viridian and its territory.

He paused for a moment as he saw the gym. Unlike the rest of Viridian, which was plain and utilitarian in design, the gym was ornate. Four marble columns proudly jutted from the ground as he approached and they guarded the walkway of white stone, evenly cut and distributed.

Two guards in ancient, metal armor stood sentry in front of a shimmering bronze door. They carried halberds and their faces were obscured by large helmets. Ash frowned at that. It was an odd choice and much more ceremonial than most gyms. He assumed that it was a testament to Viridian's ancient task of guarding Indigo Plateau. Viridian was a city steeped in traditions, so the gym, which exemplified the city's attributes, would likely adhere to some of them.

They frowned and clashed their halberds together when he walked closer. Ash met their silent glares with one of his own. He wasn't in the mood for this.

"There is only one trainer allowed in the gym at a time." They said in a chorus. Ash crossed his arms. "When the current trainer exits the building, you will be allowed into –"

A blur in a dark blue shirt suddenly rushed out of the building, throwing the heavy doors open with furious strength. The figure slammed into Ash and knocked him to the side.

Ash scowled when the figure spoke.

"Out of my way, Ashy-boy!" Gary said with pure rage in his voice. "I don't have time for you today."

The trainer frowned and grabbed Gary's shoulder, forcing him to stay. Gary never lost a chance to put in a few comments to Ash. Something had happened in there. Probably a loss, but it must have been major. "What are you talking about?"

Gary wrenched out of Ash's grip and stared daggers at the trainer. "I just got creamed! I couldn't even take down his first pokemon. My pokemon weren't even able to hurt that, that _thing_ he sent out against me!" His voice had lost its hot rage and was now just upset. "You won't do any better, so let me go and leave me alone!"

Ash stared at Gary as he rushed past the security checkpoint. Gary hadn't even managed to defeat one of Giovanni's pokemon? That was odd. His rival had a long way to go in the personality department, but he was a strong trainer. He should have been able to beat some of Giovanni's pokemon. Something strange was going on.

"Challenger, you are now being allowed entry." One of the guards told him dispassionately. The two casually slid the massive bronze doors open, allowing Ash to walk into the dark gym.

He breathed once before heading in. The room was pitch black for a moment before the lights flashed on and revealed a massive, plain stadium. It was of high-quality and showed no signs of the battle that had just taken place on it, although if Gary had been as easily defeated as he claimed there probably wouldn't be much damage anyways.

Ash winced as he felt the air. It felt energized somehow, as though an incredibly powerful psychic like Oak's Alakazam had just done some incredible feat. It made his skin tingle and the hairs on his neck and arms stand straight up. It reminded Ash of something, although his mind seemed unable to lock onto the exact source.

The only part that remained dark was a single balcony. He could barely make out a solitary form in it, although the shape became clearer when it stood up and walked over to the edge of the balcony, where it was revealed to be a tall, broad-shouldered man in a dark suit. Ash knew that this was Giovanni, although the reclusive gym leader had never been photographed clearly. When he was caught by the media, he often wore a stylish fedora to obscure his face.

Giovanni was familiar, somehow. He was stern looking and, even if he didn't seem to be doing it intentionally, seemed dark. There was something behind those cold, dispassionate eyes that disturbed Ash, although it was replaced the moment Giovanni met his eyes. Ash noticed that they were black. Aside from the obvious, something about Giovanni's face looked as though he'd seen it in a mirror every day of his life.

"I am Giovanni, Gym Leader of Viridian and holder of the Earth Badge." The gym leader boomed, his powerful voice projecting throughout the massive chamber and echoing off the walls. His face was completely relaxed now, friendly even. An absolutely massive Persian that made Jessica's look like a skitty prowled up beside him, purring loudly enough for Ash to hear as Giovanni scratched behind its ears. "What is your name, Challenger? I don't get many of your kind anymore."

"Ash Ketchum." Ash replied, as much confidence as he could muster infused into his voice. It was not nearly as deep as Giovanni's, but the effect was similar. Giovanni's narrow eyes that reminded Ash a bit of Nidoking's widened in shock for a brief moment and he blanched. The powerful gym leader recovered quickly, however, and it was as though the reaction never happened.

Giovanni's voice was almost hesitant, the first show of weakness Ash had noticed. "Are you related to Delia Ketchum?" He asked quietly. The force behind his voice was still enough to let Ash hear him clearly.

"Yes. She's my mother." Ash replied slowly, not sure why Giovanni was asking. His mother had grown up in Pallet. He couldn't see her knowing the reclusive Giovanni at all.

The gym leader stared at him with something new in his eyes. He pulled out a small communications device and muttered something into it. Giovanni's eyes turned hard, but his powerful shoulders relaxed after a few moments.

Ash breathed a sigh of relief as the tingling that accompanied incredibly powerful actions undertaken by psychics suddenly disappeared. It had begun to become uncomfortable. Something about the vast energies that had been used in the previous battles by whatever highly trained Alakazam or Gardevoir Giovanni was using was oppressive, like a constant pressure on his body.

"I knew Delia long ago." Giovanni said quietly, gently stroking the gigantic Persian's fur. "I'll give you a fair battle for that. This will be a six-on-six battle."

The gym leader didn't offer any further explanation. Instead, he raised a pokeball and silently released a gigantic, thirty-five foot long Steelix. It reared back and roared furiously, shaking the entire gym. Steelix leered at Ash with its cold, lifeless eyes and spun its head around in a complete circle. Ash didn't like it. Something about it seemed off, too dangerous.

Nevertheless, he quickly reacted. Infernus would be best against Steelix on the surface, but Ash suspected that Giovanni would allow the beast to tunnel. Steelix were able to tear through the earth like a knife through butter. It would be trivial for one to tunnel through such a large field, especially when it was in the Earth Gym.

Instead he released Nidoking. His friend's horn wasn't sharp enough to penetrate the perfect armor of Steelix, but the force behind his tail was enough to crack it and his powerful earthquake would easily defeat Steelix should it try to tunnel. Steel-types and their inflexible armor were vulnerable to the powerful vibrations of ground-type moves, and the effect would only be amplified should it actually be underneath the ground.

Giovanni snapped his fingers. Steelix roared, a loud, shrill sound that reminded Ash of metal screeching against metal, and opened its gaping jaws. Neither Ash nor Nidoking were particularly impressed. The steel-type was powerful, true, but Ash had seen onix that dwarfed it.

It shut its cold eyes and focused for a moment. Several light blue rings formed around its massive body and transformed into sharp, jagged stones. Steelix's maw shifted into a horrible grin as it sent the shards hurtling towards Nidoking.

"Confusion." Ash ordered. Nidoking's eyes shined a bright pink as his weak psychic abilities manifested. Confusion wasn't a move commonly used by Ash anymore now that Nidoking had major sources of offensive power, but this was the only way he could protect against the dozens of rock shards.

Just before they slammed into Nidoking's hard, muscular chest the weak wave of psychic power caught the shards. They were too fast for Nidoking to actually stop them, but they were slowed so much that they were little more than pebbles when they hit his friend.

"Earthquake!" Ash shouted. He didn't want to show off ice beam yet. It might come in handy in the future. Nidoking roared and leapt high into the air before slamming into the ground. He kicked up a cloud of dust from the force and sent long, jagged fissures carving throughout the room as immense waves of force radiated from his position.

Steelix roared and thrashed in pain as its heavy armor painfully shook against its sensitive inner body, but easily survived the attack. It reared back and suddenly lashed towards Nidoking, its long body easily carrying it across the battlefield.

"Ice beam." Ash called out frantically. Nidoking was tough but he couldn't take a hit from Steelix. It was just too big and heavy to take on physically. "Follow with earthquake."

Even as Steelix's gaping maw snapped towards Nidoking, the poison-type fired an ice beam straight into it. Steelix's eyes bugged out as intense cold radiated throughout its body, sending it into a brief state of shock. It was more resistant to sudden temperature changes than its pre-evolution, but that improvement didn't work well when the cold struck inside the body.

Steelix collapsed to the ground for a moment, its body locked into place thanks to the sudden shift in temperature. Nidoking grinned as he performed another earthquake and caused Steelix to roar in pain again. The steel-type had been severely weakened by the lucky ice beam. For now it was a sitting duck.

Giovanni seemed to realize this as well. "Explosion." He commanded coldly. The gym leader must have realized that Steelix wouldn't be doing any more damage otherwise.

Ash's eyes widened as Steelix's body shined brightly and sent wide beams of light spreading throughout the stadium. Explosion was a brutal move, one that was rarely used thanks to the potential for serious harm it carried. It was too uncontrollable to be used safely.

"Turn around!" Ash shouted. There was barely any time to give an order before Steelix exploded in a huge fireball, an unreal amount of energy released from the reaction. Ash had to hide his face, protected only by the phenomenally powerful psychic barriers that enclosed his box. He coughed as smoke drifted into his air and worriedly glanced over at Nidoking.

Despite having no way to really protect himself from the titanic release of energy, Nidoking still stood. He was covered in soot and looked ready to drop, but he bared his fangs at Ash proudly before roaring and pounding on his chest.

Steelix was a blackened mess. Some of its armor had been slightly melted by the intense heat, but it would probably be fine after a few potions. Ash winced at the charred creature. It was disturbing, but using explosion was painful. The steel-type hadn't deserved that.

"Good job, Nidoking!" He called out proudly. Nidoking had his armor to help him out, but it was still incredibly impressive. Ash hadn't expected Nidoking to escape so easily from that attack, nor had he expected his friend to take down Steelix with that little trouble.

Nidoking roared and glared at Giovanni as the tall man smirked. He returned Steelix and released his next pokemon. Ash watched with bated breath at whatever Giovanni would be using next. The trainer suspected that Steelix had just been a test. Giovanni hadn't given it much direction.

A new nidoking, six feet tall and even bulkier than Ash's Nidoking, appeared on the field. Its armor was thick and battle-scarred, but no less tough for it. What should have been dull claws appeared to have been sharpened and honed to their most dangerous, as had the spikes on its back. Ash looked at it in respect. That nidoking was a monster, even larger than Ash's and much more experienced.

It snorted at Nidoking disdainfully and stamped. Without even trying it send large cracks groaning through the ground. Giovanni's Nidoking waited for its trainers command just as Nidoking did.

Ash made the first move. Nidoking didn't have much left in him, so he knew this wouldn't last long. "Ice beam!" He commanded, not caring if Giovanni probably expected it.

"Earth Power!" Giovanni hissed at the same time. His Nidoking briefly glowed yellow before he smashed his fist into the ground. Glowing gold cracks raced towards Nidoking, leaving a gaping chasm in its wake. Nidoking roared and fired an ice beam even as that occurred, but Giovanni's Nidoking took it without too much trouble. It was staggered, but it simply flexed in order to shatter the layer of glistening ice.

Ash winced as the crack widened underneath Nidoking, forcing his friend to fall into it at a painful angle. Nidoking growled in agony but stared defiantly at its larger, more experienced foe. The trainer glared as well. "Ice beam! Then use earthquake."

Nidoking quickly fired off the ice beam. All three jagged arcs of heat-draining energy blasted through the air before hitting Giovanni's Nidoking squarely in the chest. It roared in pain and something in its eyes snapped. They became furious and bloodthirsty, and everything about the powerful old Nidoking grew a dozen times more terrifying.

Ash's eyes widened as he saw what happened when a Nidoking went into a frenzy. He could never imagine his friend like this.

His friend fearlessly roared in defiance as Giovanni's Nidoking raced towards him, its trainer simply watching. Giovanni obviously realized the futility of trying to command a Nidoking in frenzy and seemed to be fine watching the spectacle unfold.

Nidoking wasn't able to use his normal method of earthquake thanks to being stuck in the ground. Instead he raised his tail, which was still on the surface, and slammed it onto the ground. If anything it seemed more powerful than before, although less refined and controlled.

Ash briefly shut his eyes as he heard his friend screech in pain as the shockwaves ripped through his armored form. At least some of his friend's volatile poison sacs had probably leaked thanks to the powerful force. Nidoking wouldn't be seriously injured from his own poison, but it would cause him horrible pain.

He glanced over at Giovanni's Nidoking even as he prepared to recall his best friend. The immense beast had collapsed, but was pulling itself up. There was murder in its eyes as it glared at Nidoking, but the furious poison-type suddenly stamped its foot. The earth suddenly rippled and forced Nidoking out of the ground, closing the crevasse.

Nidoking glanced back at Ash, obviously in horrible pain. But he shook his head at the pokeball and pulled himself up. Ash didn't bother commanding him as Nidoking faced his foe with as much dignity as he could manage.

Giovanni's Nidoking roared and charged towards Ash's friend. Nidoking stood his ground and met the charge head on, ducking underneath the sharp horn that would have torn through his armor like paper and grunting as he was still caught by the full force of his foe's charge. His hulking form was send to the ground, but Nidoking managed to slam his powerful tail into Giovanni's Nidoking's chest.

The larger creature grunted in pain but remained relatively unfazed by the blow. He roared at Nidoking in hatred and stamped into Ash's friend's chest. Ash prepared to recall Nidoking. This was going too far.

Just as he began to raise his pokeball, Nidoking roared and fired an ice beam directly into his foe's face. Giovanni's Nidoking's bloodlust returned in full force, but was tempered by an icy edge. It turned around and raised its huge tail and slammed it into Nidoking's chest. Nidoking couldn't even grunt as the thick muscle suddenly wrapped around him and began to squeeze, a potentially lethal situation.

The furious creature blinked in surprise as Ash recalled Nidoking. He whispered his thanks to his friend before glaring at the beast with pure fury. It must have been exactly how Giovanni's rampaging beast felt.

The creature in front of him had just hurt his friend and gone far beyond the ordinary limits of a gym battle. It was going to pay, and Ash was going to spare no expense in doing so.

Dazed sleepily emerged onto the field. She looked at the massive Nidoking in surprise and glanced at Ash, her emotions for once clearly visible. Ash just glared at the feral beast. "It hurt Nidoking. Psychic."

Ash grinned satisfactorily as Dazed snapped to the Nidoking, which had just begun to charge at her with its horn lowered. The long, purple weapon was glowing brightly in a manner that Ash instantly recognized as Megahorn. That would do serious damage to Dazed if it and would easily knock her unconscious in a single blow.

Fortunately, it didn't even come close. Dazed's eyes burned like miniature suns as she stared at Nidoking unflinchingly, her silent fury driving the full force of her psychic power. Nidoking roared and flailed around in confusion as it was roughly yanked into the air and held in a vice-grip.

Nidoking roared louder and stared at Dazed with pure hatred in its narrow eyes. Ash was surprised it was able to move with the crushing force Dazed was applying to it, but he supposed he shouldn't have been. It was strong and experienced.

In fact, it almost looked like –

Ash's eyes widened as Nidoking forcefully broke out of the psychic grip and charged toward Dazed. She reacted quickly and teleported just before it would have gored her with its huge horn. The trainer snarled. "Psybeam, catch it with psychic if it stays up."

"Sludge wave." Giovanni ordered, seeing as Nidoking had finally calmed down a bit. "Then Superpunch."

He frowned as a huge blob of black and purple sludge formed around Nidoking before exploding outward, briefly obscuring his entire field of vision. Dazed easily avoided the attack thanks to her psychic shield, but that just let Ash see Nidoking appear behind her with a leer on his face. Its claws were engulfed with shadowy energy even as its body was surrounded in an aura of light blue energy.

Ash's eyes widened as he realized what Giovanni had made: a combination of Sucker Punch, which allowed Nidoking to avoid Dazed's notice thanks to the dark-type energy surrounding him, and Superpower, which amplified its already monumental strength to unnatural heights.

"Teleport!" He shouted frantically. Dazed did so without hesitation, sparing her from being knocked unconscious by the devious combination. Normally he would have told her to disable Nidoking, but it would have failed thanks to him utilizing dark-type energy in his attack.

Dazed quickly fired a ruthlessly powerful psybeam straight into Nidoking's face as it charged forward. Nidoking stumbled, but the monster didn't collapse. The psychic-type finished Ash's earlier commands then, her eyes shining even brighter as she used all of her strength to yank Nidoking into the air and bombard him with crushing force.

Giovanni realized it was over then, and didn't bother giving the thrashing Nidoking an order. It was all as well. Nidoking slackened in unconsciousness moments later, leaving only Dazed as Giovanni returned the brute.

The gym leader had a smile on his face, replacing the confident frown that Ash had noted before. He casually released another pokemon that Ash didn't recognize.

It had a large black body with two small, stubby legs. The mystery pokemon levitated several feet into the air and looked to be made from earth or clay. It had a wide, rounded head with a protrusion on the top and a circling pattern. Cannon-like arms were held close to its body, and the pokemon looked as though it had several faces encircling its head.

"It's a claydol." Giovanni said with a small smirk. He looked down at Ash. "I had to take it because of the Interregional Gym Leader's Agreement." The man scowled suddenly. "At least I have an excuse to use it now.

Giovanni's comments bothered Ash a little, but he paid them little heed. Instead he focused on Claydol. It gazed at him impassively with several of its blind faces. He suspected that it was psychic considering that it was levitating, and he automatically assumed it was a ground-type. This could be an interesting battle.

Then again, he'd rather it not be a battle at all.

"Multiball!" He ordered. Dazed's eyes were alit with a light, flickering grey aura as she formed a dozen tiny shadow balls. They instantly began to circle around her, guided by Dazed's relentless will.

In response, Claydol's arms disconnected from its body and were held in the air, both of the cannon-like appendages pointed at Dazed. Its body glowed brightly as a shimmering veil of psychic energy appeared around it, encasing it in a protective barrier. Both of its cannons began to glow, prompting Dazed to immediately fire the weak shadow balls at it.

They tore through the veil, but each were weakened even further. Claydol was sent flying back and began to fall a little from the shadow balls that did hit, but quickly recovered. That did expose a weakness, however, and one that Ash should have realized earlier.

Claydol depended on its psychic abilities to levitate and operate. If it were momentarily disrupted – say, by a shadow ball – then it would be unable to function for a short period of time. All that stood in his way was getting it in without the shadow ball being weakened.

Unfortunately, Claydol soon proved that it wasn't just an odd pokemon. Its attacks had been briefly stopped by the shadow balls, but now they were primed again.

The first was a hyper beam. From the cannon to the right a gigantic stream of red-orange energy flashed towards Dazed. She easily teleported away, but a blast of bright, light-green energy from a solar beam slammed into her a moment later.

Ash cried out as his friend was consumed in the blast, but calmed down when he realized that she had blocked the brunt of the attack with a shield. "Disable. Then hit it with a shadow ball!"

Dazed's eyes flashed as a light blue aura of psychic energy hit the momentarily stunned Claydol. It was still too weak from its two attacks to fight against the disable, so it was helpless as Dazed hurled a massive shadow ball into its.

Claydol was silent as it fell, but managed to levitate itself back up. It circled to face Dazed with a face that appeared rather angry. The odd creature glowed brightly as it fired two shadow balls from its two cannons. As Dazed teleported away, however, it stared at the ground.

"Field Wipe." Giovanni called out.

Ash had a bad feeling as he saw the ground tremble. Dust was pulled up as an incredibly powerful psychic force acted upon the ground. Just as Dazed reappeared, he heard a loud boom as the earth in the battlefield was torn in two, separating the sides. It would be a challenge to face later, but he couldn't see what value it would have now.

He understood when he saw Dazed get thrown to the ground from the immense energy released from the earthquake. She barely levitated herself up before two hyper beams slammed into her shimmering shield. Ash winced as Dazed was sent staggering back, but reacted quickly.

"Multiball, shadow ball, disable!" He ordered, hoping that Dazed would process the command fast enough.

Thankfully, she did. Dazed was surrounded by ghostly energy as she sent a dozen tiny, weak shadow balls flying towards Claydol. The strange pokemon had raised the shimmering veil once again, which practically nullified the shadow balls, but it was helpless when a proper shadow ball impacted and exploded in a black cloud.

Ash grinned as Claydol fell to the ground, although Dazed was suddenly struck by an ice beam from one of its cannons. The other hadn't charged up its attack before Claydol had lost control of its body. The ice beam barely fazed her, however, and she instantly disabled Claydol.

Thanks to the psychic energies locking it in place, Claydol was unable to actually recover its levitation. Its mind appeared to be shut down every time it was struck by a ghost-type attack, so it was essentially being kept in a coma thanks to the disable.

Now all he had to do was finish it off. "Shadow ball!"

Claydol limply fell to the ground as Dazed released the disable. She couldn't maintain it while using a ghost-type attack, but it was no problem. The odd psychic and ground-type needed a few seconds to harness its energies again.

Just as it began to regain its senses, Dazed's last shadow ball slammed into Claydol, consuming the creature in an explosion of black energy. Arcs of unnatural lightning jumped around on it as it collapsed to the ground unconscious.

Ash grinned. Dazed was doing great. "Good job, keep it up!"

Dazed turned to him and smiled with her eyes. She idly polished her pendulum in her white mane as Giovanni recalled Claydol. The gym leader had a puzzled frown on his face as he raised a pokeball.

The trainer frowned as he saw the spherical form of a Golem appear. It was dangerous, but it didn't seem as apt for defeating Dazed as Claydol did. Golem couldn't shoot a hyper beam and solar beam simultaneously, for one. Ash shuddered – he wouldn't be missing that.

Golem leered at Dazed, its beady red eyes shining maliciously. It didn't even need an order from Giovanni before several rings surrounded it and shifted into stone shards. Ash sighed when he saw Stone Edge once again. Giovanni seemed to like the move.

Dazed prepared to teleport as the jagged stone shards aimed outward in every direction. As they were launched, she quickly disappeared in a flash of light in order to avoid them. He frowned when Giovanni smirked.

"Magnitude. Then use Stealth Rock and Steamroller."

Ash scowled as he saw Dazed appear. Golem's body was surrounded in a brown aura as it leapt into the air. When it landed, the aura suddenly disappeared into the ground and created massive shockwaves that rippled through the battlefield.

"Teleport up a few inches!" He commanded. It was a strategy he'd developed for earthquake and moves similar to it. If Dazed wasn't touching the ground they couldn't hurt her. "Now, psychic!"

As Dazed disappeared, Golem gave Ash a disturbing grin. It reminded him starkly of Giovanni's Steelix. Golem clenched its large fist and caused stones to be torn up from the ground around it. They were sharp and large and levitated around the battlefield. Ash frowned when he realized what they were for.

"Shield." He shouted as Dazed appeared a dozen feet behind Golem. She followed his order instantaneously and managed to hold the large stones back before they crushed her. Ash could see that it was everything she could do to keep them back. They were straining against the shield and putting immense pressure on her. If Dazed tried to teleport she'd be slammed into by a rock.

There was only one thing he could do. If Dazed could only use shields, then he'd make the most of it. "Force your shield out! Send Golem back."

Dazed's eyes burned as she put herself through immense strain. The shield flared brighter and brighter and slowly pushed the Stealth Rocks backwards. Ash fell prey to the spectacle and only realized what Golem was doing right as Dazed exhausted herself.

"Teleport!" He shouted fearfully. Golem had pulled its head, arms, and legs into its shell. It spun rapidly and made a beeline for Dazed. The shields disappeared right as it would have hit them, but Dazed didn't teleport fast enough to avoid the Steamroller.

"Dazed!" He cried as Golem slammed into her and sent her flying into the gym's wall. She crumpled to the ground and couldn't get up. Her body couldn't take the hit. Ash sighed and looked at his pokeball worriedly once he recalled her. He'd seen blood before she was returned. She needed to go to the Pokemon Center and get a full restore the moment he could.

Golem cackled as it pulled itself out of the shell. Ash scowled at it. It wouldn't be laughing for long.

Bruiser pounded his chest as he appeared on the ravaged battlefield, on the same side that Golem was on. The great chasm in the battlefield was incredibly inconvenient if a pokemon couldn't levitate or teleport across it. Ash suspected that was the point.

"It hurt Dazed. Take it down." Ash ordered. Bruiser nodded and entered a fighting stance. Without any input from Giovanni, Golem sent the Stealth Rocks flying towards Bruiser.

Ash grinned as Bruiser easily smashed the massive stones with a quick flurry of blows. His grin grew wider as Giovanni began to give orders.

"Focus Energy!" Ash ordered, taking advantage of Golem's momentarily lapse. Bruiser closed his eyes and focused his power. His incredible strength would be amplified for a bit, which was just what Ash needed.

"Magnitude." Giovanni said icily. "Then Earth Power."

Golem quickly sent tremors blasting through the earth. It was noticeably more powerful than before. Bruiser was sent staggering back from the force behind the waves, but held his ground. He was too slow to react when Golem sent a crack carving through the ground, however.

"Jump over it!" Ash shouted. Bruiser nodded and leapt as the crack carved around him. Golem growled and clenched its meaty hands. The crack suddenly widened and the entire section of the battlefield Bruiser was in fell into the gaping chasm. He idly wondered just how deep it was.

The rock-type suddenly acted without Giovanni's input. It was surrounded in a light blue aura that Ash recognized as both Superpower and Iron Defense before it pulled into its shell and spun towards Bruiser, leaving a deep rut in the earth. Apparently it was what Giovanni wanted it to do, however, as the gym leader simply smiled at the motion.

"Catch it and throw it into the chasm!" Ash said with a grin. Bruiser prepared himself and widened his stance as Golem raced towards him. He silently wondered just who would win this confrontation – the unstoppable force or the immovable object.

As Golem rolled towards Bruiser, it suddenly did something that worried Ash. Instead of one, two Golem appeared, both flickering and impossible to trace accurately. He groaned as he realized that Golem was using double team. It was impossible to detect which one was which.

"Get out of the way." He called out, knowing that Bruiser would try and take Golem on otherwise. Bruiser barely had enough time to follow his order, but Golem had one last trick up its sleeve. It shot its head up and had it spit a stream of flame at Bruiser as it passed by, but the technique backfired.

Bruiser automatically punched with his full force as Golem flew by. Thanks to focusing his energy, the hit was fast and strong enough to divert Golem's momentum and send him flying into the black chasm. Ash blinked, not horrified but glad.

Giovanni had showed a propensity toward brutal tactics in this battle, but he wouldn't make a chasm that could lead to a pokemon's death. So Ash wasn't too worried as Golem flew into the chasm. After about four seconds of stunned silence he heard the rock-type impact at the bottom.

Strangely, however, Giovanni didn't try to return Golem. Bruiser walked over to the edge of the chasm with a smile on his broad, reptilian face. He peered over, but a flash of confusion over his features made Ash worry a bit.

"_Don't get close. There's always one last trick when everything else is lost_." Blaine's sharp, cutting voice whispered into his mind.

"Get back!" Ash cried. Bruiser turned his head over to look at Ash in confusion, missing Golem as it erupted from the chasm and slammed its fist into the underside of Bruiser's chin. The trainer winced as Bruiser was knocked unconscious by the blow, which had been empowered by the momentum granted to Golem by Rock Climb.

Ash recalled Bruiser and glared at Golem. The surprisingly powerful and devious pokemon had proved to be much more of a problem than he'd expected. It had to be dealt with immediately and with overwhelming force.

Torrent rumbled happily when he was released. He looked down his snout at Golem disinterestedly. Golem leered back, its reptilian face split by a disturbing grin.

"Hydro pump!" Ash commanded, even as Giovanni called out, "Explosion!"

Ash shut his eyes as a huge flash of light and heat ripped through the battlefield. He peered worriedly at Torrent, although he gave a sigh of relief when he realized the powerful dragon-type had easily held up against the powerful attack. Torrent was weakened, but hadn't taken nearly as much damage as Nidoking.

Golem, on the other hand, was collapsed and unconscious. Some of its hard, rocky plates had fused together, leaving it a seamless sphere of stone. The ground around it was nothing but a huge scorch mark.

Giovanni actually had a smile on his face as he recalled Golem. It almost looked as though the cold gym leader was enjoying their battle. Ash liked the challenge, but he didn't like the serious damage Nidoking and Dazed had taken. That had pushed the limits of gym battles and was horribly dangerous. Neither would be able to fight for a while if it was as bad as he feared.

The gym leader released a large Machamp next, although it wasn't quite as impressive as Bruno's. Nevertheless, it was quite a powerful specimen. It flexed and grinned at Ash and Torrent. He noted that its eyes were as cold as Golem's.

"Ice Storm!" Ash snapped out. Torrent immediately set to work creating the devastating technique.

Giovanni wasn't intimidated even as Torrent began to create the Ice Storm. "Knock Out."

Machamp's eyes lit up with glee. It reared one of its arms back and suddenly flashed towards Torrent, completely ignoring the field of ice in its way. The Bullet Punch carried it far, and it struck Torrent with incredible force.

Still, even though Torrent was weakened he fought back well. He immediately stopped creating the Ice Storm and blasted a stream of frozen air into Machamp's face. Machamp was slowed down, but its arms continued launching lightning quick strikes.

Ash could see each of Machamp's fists glowing with bright energy as they hammered Torrent, doing little damage to his thick scale plates but still hurting him. Machamp seemed to be using a technique that had no regard for its own safety – it was taking Torrent's hydro pumps and blizzards without halting its attack. It was obviously suffering horribly, but it just didn't care.

"Dual Chop." Giovanni ordered triumphantly, victory gleaming in his black eyes as Machamp suddenly began launching horribly brutal chops at Torrent. Something about it seemed to deal incredible damage to Torrent, although his friend held up. He didn't seem to be able to move, however. It was as though he were crippled.

Torrent was fading fast. He wasn't able to escape, and Machamp had rained dozens of powerful blows on him in the few seconds they'd been battling. There was just one thing left to do. Machamp couldn't hold up well against energy-based attack, so that was what he would use.

"Dragon pulse." Ash said with a grim sense of finality. Torrent focused all of his power for a single moment before blasting the immense sphere of swirling green energy into Machamp's muscular chest.

The fighting-type was finally forced back. It clutched its chest with all four of its hands and looked up at Torrent with icy rage. That didn't even bother Torrent, who casually took the opportunity to blast Machamp in the face with an overpowered hydro pump.

Machamp's eyes widened and it tried to step forward, but the damage was too great. Ash grinned as the dangerous fighting-type collapsed, although he knew Torrent was going to fall soon as well.

"You did amazing!" He told his friend proudly. "You can finish this, I know you can!"

Torrent rumbled an affirmative at Ash and prepared to face the last of Giovanni's pokemon. The thought put a wide smile on Ash's face – he'd taken some damage, but he was about to beat the Earth Gym! He'd be amongst some of the greatest trainers in Kanto, and all he had to do was finish this battle.

Giovanni's small smile had grown larger. It looked almost proud to Ash, although he was a little puzzled as to why. But he was focused more on the ultra ball in Giovanni's hand. It held his last foe.

His eyes widened when an absolutely massive Rhyperior appeared on the ravaged battlefield. It snorted and spun its drill before glaring at Torrent unflinchingly, the type-disadvantage not bothering it in the least. Rhyperior stamped its foot and roared its challenge to Torrent, which the dragon-type immediately returned.

Rhyperior didn't have that cold, disconnected look the other pokemon had, but it might be the more dangerous for it. Its eyes showed respect for Torrent as the bulky creature casually stepped forward, its large black eyes meeting Torrent's determined, tired scarlet ones.

It was eight feet tall and looked to weigh at least a thousand pounds. A thousand pounds of pure power and impenetrable armor. Torrent had never faced a worthier foe.

This would be a battle to remember. Two titans fighting for victory, both staring each other down unflinchingly in a test of wills. He would never forget this as long as he lived, no matter how far he went. This was a defining moment in his trainer career.

"Blizzard." Ash broke the silence. Torrent reared his head back and spewed a massive amount of icy air towards Rhyperior. It would at the very least slow the massive creature down and at best instantly knock it out.

The icy haze was suddenly split in half by a small, yet horribly intense beam of energy. Ash blinked as the unnaturally powerful hyper beam slammed into Torrent and exploded, instantly knocking the proud dragon unconscious.

He blinked and returned Torrent disbelievingly. How had Rhyperior done that? Torrent was badly weakened, yes, but he should have been able to take a hyper beam. Was the rock-type really that powerful?

Rhyperior was silent as Ash sent out his next battler. He only had two left: Infernus and Tangrowth. Tangrowth was the best choice since he had an incredible advantage over Rhyperior, but Ash wanted to soften it up as best he could.

Infernus roared furiously as he appeared on the field. His eyes lit up when he saw Rhyperior standing stoically ahead of him, staring at Infernus unflinchingly. The fire-type stamped his foot and caused an immense wave of lava to explode out of the ground, a testament to his great power.

The rock-type stamped the ground as well and casually closed the great crevasse that split the battlefield. Ash blinked at the sheer power that the deed must have taken. He knew that Rhyperior was powerful, but he hadn't thought it was that strong.

"Infernus, you have one job." He said quietly. Infernus tensed up at his words and blazed up, flames cascading down his form and making him the best he could be. "Get to Rhyperior, and break him. You can do it."

If Infernus could grin, Ash was sure he would be. The flames rippling down his form and leaving him an indistinct figure in the middle of a fiery haze shifted from orange to white and grew much larger. Infernus was ready.

Ash knew that Infernus could complete his job, but he knew that his friend wouldn't defeat Rhyperior. The type advantage was too substantial and Rhyperior was essentially immune to fire thanks to its thick armor. What Infernus could do was hurt it, and hurt it bad. He could break the armor and leave it open to Tangrowth.

"Haze." Ash said simply. There wasn't much he could do. This was up to Infernus and all he would do was distract him.

Infernus blasted fire everywhere around the battlefield before taking off, practically invisible amongst the roaring flames.

"Quench the flames." Giovanni said casually, unbefitting his professional image. "Once you see it, use Rock Wrecker."

Rhyperior briskly nodded before it shut its eyes. It reared its thick head back and shot tons of cold air out over the battlefield and into the raging fires, although the Blizzard was much weaker than Torrent's. Ash watched closely as the cold air managed to keep the flames at bay and extinguish the outlying part. It kept a zone where Rhyperior was able to avoid any sneak attacks from Infernus.

It was nearly a minute before any real actions began. Infernus shot blasts of flame towards Rhyperior, which the large rock-type steadfastly ignored. Rhyperior used Stone Edge every now and then, but Infernus was never hit.

Finally, Infernus raced from the flames at an incredible speed. The flames trailed along behind him, leaving him with a cloak of fire. Infernus spat long streams of flame at Rhyperior to distract it, but Rhyperior seemed to smile as it put its hands together.

Small chunks of gray stone came out of the holes on Rhyperior's hands and formed together into a large rock that was outlined in red. The red outline faded and Rhyperior launched the stone toward Infernus at an incredible speed.

Infernus seemed to snort as the huge stone flashed towards him and casually smashed through it with a glowing fist. He raced around Rhyperior's attempts at retribution and made use of his superior agility to avoid any hits.

Rhyperior finally had enough, and, at Giovanni's command, leapt a foot into the air before landing. An incredibly powerful earthquake ripped through the arena, turning it into a few islands of stable earth and many gaping chasms.

The rock-type seemed to smile, believing that Infernus had fallen into one of the crevasses, but a sudden strike to the side of its head shook it away from that notion. Rhyperior roared and tried to fight back, but Infernus managed to dodge its slow, powerful strikes and hit Rhyperior's chest with a powerful Brick Break.

Ash grinned as a large crack opened down Rhyperior's front. The immensely powerful creature roared in agony as Infernus maliciously spat a burst of flame into the exposed core, but couldn't do anything but thrash wildly as Infernus ducked underneath its furious blows and placed both hands underneath the pieces of armor exposed by the large crack.

Even though he was glad that Infernus was doing so well, Ash had to wince as Infernus wrenched the heavy shell of armor as far up as he could and created a large section of soft, exposed flesh. Infernus instantly took advantage of Rhyperior's momentary weakness and shot a huge blast of flame into the vulnerable area.

"Enough!" Giovanni roared, his patience gone with Rhyperior. The massive creature was snapped out of its agony by Giovanni's fury and slammed a fist at Infernus. Ash grinned as his friend ducked away and tried to circle around the behemoth, but blanched when Rhyperior's thick, club-like tail slammed into Infernus' side.

The magmar was sent sprawling onto the ground. He was completely helpless against Rhyperior, who was menacingly advancing, but continued to fire blast after blast of fire at the nigh invulnerable beast. Rhyperior roared and used one of its thick arms to guard the sensitive skin of its exposed chest while the other was raised at Infernus.

Rhyperior had a righteous fury about it as its arms contracted and shot a large stone at an incredible force into Infernus' chest. The magmar was instantly knocked unconscious by the blow, the churning flames that still raged over the battlefield suddenly extinguished without his forceful will.

"You did your job." Ash whispered to Infernus as he recalled him. He met Rhyperior's unnervingly calm eyes, his brown meeting the titan's dull black. This would determine the outcome of the match, and _he would win. _This was a test of wills – his and Tangrowth's against Giovanni and Rhyperior.

_He would win._

Tangrowth gurgled happily as he realized that he was battling, although he glanced around with confusion at the wrecked battlefield. It wouldn't be a problem for the grass-type to maneuver, but it was odd.

"You're my last pokemon." Ash said quietly. He saw Tangrowth listen attentively. "It's all up to you. Tangrowth, I know you can do this! Rhyperior has an exposed spot on his chest. You can do it."

His friend gurgled an affirmative and stared happily at Rhyperior with his saucer-like eyes. Several dozen of his long, thick vines suddenly extended, giving Tangrowth the appearance of being much larger than he really was.

"Stone Edge and then Rock Wrecker." Giovanni said calmly. Ash couldn't read the gym leader's face, but thought he saw concealed pride in his black eyes. The trainer clenched his fists as Rhyperior wrenched a dozen large, sharp stones from the ground and aimed them at Tangrowth.

"You know what to do, buddy." Ash murmured. As the jagged stones flew towards Tangrowth, the grass-type casually extended his vines and expertly caught each of the large rocks before he let them drop to the ground. "Launch some stun spore!"

As Rhyperior focused its energy on using Rock Wrecker again, Tangrowth rustled his body and accurately shot a condensed cloud of stun spore at Rhyperior. It didn't quite make it before exploding, but the cloud of golden spores slowly drifted towards Rhyperior.

"When it hits, extend your vines." Ash commanded, tension building in his chest. He was so close. "Catch the rock it's about to throw at you and get rid of it. Get into the chest and mega drain."

Tangrowth gurgled as Rhyperior stared at him, a huge stone boulder in its large hands. Before Rhyperior send the powerful attack towards the grass-type, however, it breathed a thick blast of flame and set the boulder alit for a few seconds.

Ash's eyes widened when the sleep powder around Rhyperior suddenly combusted, setting that entire section of the field alight. That meant that Tangrowth couldn't get up close and personal with Rhyperior, but it wouldn't cause too much of a problem. He could work this to his advantage.

He grinned as Tangrowth caught the boulder with his powerful vines. Although the fire spread onto the two vines that secured the boulder before dropping it, Tangrowth simply used another vine to slice through the others and send them into the crevasses with the flaming boulder.

After that, Tangrowth used several of his vines to pull itself about ten feet closer to Rhyperior so he could have more maneuverability. When he was at a good position, Tangrowth followed Ash's commands and sent two dozen vines lashing towards the helpless Rhyperior.

Ash noticed that Tangrowth's vines were alit as they rushed through the cloud of burning stun spore, but that simply made them more effective weapons, if shorter-lived. He could hear Rhyperior's roars from his box as Tangrowth snuck the burning vines into his exposed skin – it was still much thicker than most organisms' skin, but Rhyperior had grown so accustomed to little feeling that any pain was intense – and began to suck away Rhyperior's energy.

He could see a few blasts of fire as Rhyperior tried to burn the vines away, but they were thick enough that it didn't matter. Additionally, the vines of Tangrowth had a minor flame retardant in them, a major change from the defenseless vines of a Tangela. It wouldn't prevent them from burning or catching on fire, but it would draw the process out much more.

Tangrowth kept it up for nearly a minute. Rhyperior was tearing through as many vines as it could, but more were always there to replace it and lash at Rhyperior to distract the beast.

And finally, Rhyperior's gigantic form fell. It caused the entire arena to tremble a bit, but Ash was too dumbfounded to notice.

"You…you did it!" Ash shouted excitedly. Tangrowth gurgled and waved his large arms around. He tried to send a few vines over so he could hug Ash, but the psychic barriers prevented it.

He couldn't believe it – he'd won. He'd won the Earth Badge, where so many trainers before him had failed. He was ready for anything now.

For nearly a minute he just stared at the ravaged arena with a strange, mad smile on his face. He felt like he'd gotten so excited that he couldn't feel anything over the surge of adrenaline racing through his system. Ash finally grew aware enough to return Tangrowth, smiling at his friend as the powerful grass-type vanished into the pokeball.

"You are the first to defeat me in a very long time." The calm, serious voice of Giovanni announced from behind him. Ash turned towards the tall man and saw him up close for the first time. Now that he wasn't far away and obscured by shadows, Ash could see that the man had a facial structure that was sort of like his own, although there were some major differences. He wasn't too focused on that though – he was staring at the small green Earth Badge in Giovanni's hand.

"You are worthy of the Earth Badge." Giovanni told him, his large hand handing it over to Ash's small one. "Even those I fight on even terms rarely progress to my third battler. You are amongst the rare few that can claim to have defeated me."

Ash met Giovanni's eyes. They'd appeared cold during their battle, but something seemed a bit warmer about them now. He still noted that niggling sense of familiarity that told him that he'd seen the man before, although he knew he hadn't.

Giovanni suddenly smiled and pet the massive Persian that was sitting beside him. Ash hadn't even noticed the large cat until now. "I might have a job offer for you in a few years. My organization can always use skilled individuals as yourself."

"Thanks." Ash said with a friendly smile, although the words contributed to the sense of familiarity. "I'll keep that in mind."

"I expect to see you go far, Mr. Ketchum." The tall gym leader said with a strange smile on his face. "If you're anything like your parents, I know you will. It runs in the blood, after all."

He wasn't really sure what to say to that, but he didn't have to. Giovanni abruptly began speaking again. "Go to the Pokemon Center. You need to heal."

"Thanks." Ash said with a dip of his hat. He glanced over at the battlefield. It was strange to think that in mere minutes it would be smoothed out by whatever psychic watched over the gym. He shook himself out of those thoughts and began to walk out the gym.

He could feel Giovanni's eyes watching him as he left. Just before he opened the door, he felt the immensely powerful psychic presence from before appear. Ash shuddered as he felt every hair on his body stand up from the sheer power it was emitting.

The trainer looked back and saw a strange figure on the battlefield. Its eyes were glowing a bright blue from behind an odd visor and armor covered it. His skin tingled as the entire field was suddenly corrected, and he briefly met the figure's burning eyes before he walked out. Ash's mind ached just from looking at it.

Ash gave a short nod to both of the guards, who watched him with awe as he walked to the security checkpoint deep in thought. He barely noted the last guard, who looked at him strangely as he let the trainer through.

He was halfway to the Pokemon Center before he froze. The adrenaline in his system was dying down.

He knew where he'd seen Giovanni before: the Rocket Hideout in Celadon. Petrel had appeared as him for some reason. That on its own was odd, but not incriminating. Petrel was half-insane and transforming into the gym leader that most opposed Team Rocket would probably give him a laugh.

But what was damning was the unnaturally powerful psychic energy that pervaded the entire gym. No Alakazam could make that – not even a group. And that strange figure was not an Alakazam, nor any other psychic Ash had ever heard of. It was too humanoid, and he couldn't think of anything that would need that odd, advanced armor.

"_I heard that my boss managed to procure a pretty powerful psychic."_ Petrel laughed in his mind.

Thoughts of the sheer presence of the strange psychic that had destroyed the St. Anne, released Pierce and the other Rockets from prison, and a host of other acts that Ash didn't know about echoed in his mind – the effects were so familiar.

Connections – no matter how half-baked – rapidly formed together in a web in his mind. Memories of a dying ship and a noxious, heavy muk slowly devouring him began to surface – no. He had to stay calm.

He ducked into an alley and released Tangrowth. "Don't let anyone in here." Ash commanded shakily, feeling as though he were disconnected from the world at the moment.

Tangrowth gurgled worriedly at him but nodded.

Ash plucked the PokeNav off of his belt and typed some numbers in with trembling hands.

One ring.

Two ring.

Three ring.

Four ring. Ash began to get worried. He had to tell someone, the one person who could make this right.

Fifth – "Hello?" A familiar, strong voice asked him. "Who is this? How did you get this number?"

Ash dimly remembered that, although he had never called this person, he'd been given their number. It was for safety back during the operation.

"Lance, it's Ash." He said quietly into the phone. Ash heard a sharp intake of breath and continued. "I need to tell you something."

**XX**

**And there it is! Sorry for the horrible wait and the cliffhanger, but I think this monster of a chapter makes up for it, eh? I will definitely not be making a habit of this. It would have been out earlier, but I've had a ton of school stuff going on lately. **

**Well, my hands aren't going to be usable for a few days. I think I might end up with nerve damage if I keep these monster chapters up. This is more than 45000 words and 94 pages on Microsoft Word. So…yeah.**

**Anyways, make sure to review! Let's reach 400! Thanks again for the awesome response I got for last chapter.**

**The next chapter will be up as soon as I'm able. **

**I just checked the clock, so Happy Mother's Day. **


	14. Chapter 14: The Creature and the Forest

**Here's Chapter Fourteen. Thanks for the amazing response last chapter! It really makes me glad. **

**A bit of a warning, though, expect this chapter to be a bit more intense than other chapters, especially towards the beginning. Nothing too bad, but it's a change from the rest of the story. **

**It's also come to my attention that I don't have a picture for Traveler. If someone wants to help out or knows where I can find a good picture, just PM me. **

**But enough of that. Here's the story. Enjoy!**

"What happened? Are you alright?" Lance questioned quickly, concern evident. Ash wished he had chosen a better place to call the Champion than this alley. It was blocking his signal from actually getting a video feed.

"I'm fine." Ash told the man, some of his shakiness disappearing. "Just…just listen to me for a minute."

The Indigo Champion was quiet. Ash took that as his cue to continue. The trainer took a deep breath before he started speaking. "I challenged the Viridian Gym today. The psychic that blew up the St. Anne was there."

"What." Lance said. Steel entered his voice. It wasn't a question. "Are you sure?"

"I could feel it." Ash scowled, a grim expression on his stony face. "The gym is filled with its energy without it even doing anything. No Alakazam could do that."

Lance was quiet. Ash could practically see the contemplative expression on the Champion's ordinarily boisterous face. He could hear the rapping on knuckles against solid oak.

"Check out the records for his last few gym battles." Ash said, pressing his point even further. "I know one of the trainers that challenged him before me. He's strong and he was defeated six to nothing."

"This is unsettling." Lance said quietly. He was silent for a few more moments. "I'll look into it." The Champion's tone suddenly grew stern. "Ash, don't do anything you'll regret. Go to the Center and heal your pokemon. You might not have fought the Psychic, but they still have to be hurt. I'll contact you later."

Ash gritted his teeth. It was out of the ordinary for him, but he didn't want to listen. He didn't want to wait for justice. He needed Giovanni to be punished _now_! Ash didn't know where Giovanni fit into the Rockets' schemes, but the man was a part of them nonetheless.

"I will." Ash finally muttered. He knew that the League would take care of it. They hated the Rockets as much as he did and with Lance at their head they'd act quickly. Perhaps in another region they'd try to protect Giovanni's reputation. But in Indigo, justice was blind.

"I'll get this taken care of." Lance promised. Ash just nodded at the phone before the Champion cut the line.

He stared at the blank screen for a few seconds before he clicked the PokeNav shut and clipped it onto his belt. There was nothing to do now but wait.

"Let's go, Tangrowth." Ash said dazedly as he walked out of the alley. He simply returned his friend as they walked by. Viridian was strict on outsider's pokemon being released unless it was a dire emergency. It would be a shame if he got into trouble before Giovanni was arrested.

XX

"What on earth did you battle?!" Nurse Joy shouted at him as she came back from the operating room. She was furious. Ash blinked. "Your Nidoking has two broken ribs and severe bruising around his midsection, as well as minor burns on his back. Do you know what it takes to do that to one of his breed?"

Ash sighed and scratched his neck. "Yes, I do. You can thank the gym leader."

Nurse Joy's eyes widened. All anger was sapped from her posture. "That explains it." She shook her head. "I've told that stubborn man a million times to be easier on his challengers. One of these days there's going to be an injury he can't take back."

He began to clench his fists but stopped himself. Everything was going to be fine. All he needed to do was distract himself. "How are the others?"

"Hypno has severe bruising on her back and a few broken ribs. She had a few stones embedded in her skin, but Chansey got those out. There are three gashes from whatever she hit and part of her side was skinned." Nurse Joy recited clinically, doing her best to emotionally distance herself from the report. "Machoke is mostly fine, but his chin is cracked and he has a minor concussion. Kingdra is fine, just unconscious. Magmar is in pretty bad shape, though." She noted. "Four broken ribs, a bit of internal damage and some breathing issues."

Ash scowled and clenched his fists. Infernus shouldn't have been that hurt from a gym battle. It was like battling Pierce all over again.

"Listen, a full restore will get Magmar up and running, but you need to let him soak in some lava." Nurse Joy told him with worried eyes. "That'll soothe his pain and fix him up better than anything I can do." A tired smile appeared on her face. "I wish all pokemon could be healed that easily."

The trainer nodded in agreement. It would be nice to not have to buy so many potions and revives. He assumed she hadn't said anything about Tangrowth because there wasn't anything to say. Tangrowth could regenerate in a few hours if he really needed to.

"Your pokemon will need to stay here for the rest of the day at least. We can release Kingdra and Tangrowth to you now."

"Thank you." Ash said with a dip of his hat. Nurse Joy smiled at him before walking off and waving one of the attendants over. The girl quickly handed him Torrent and Tangrowth's pokeballs before rushing off to help Nurse Joy.

He clipped them onto his belt and watched the attendant walk into the operating room sadly. Ash hated that his friends had been so badly hurt in the gym battle. He hadn't thought that they'd been hurt badly – except for Nidoking, anyway. Dazed hadn't looked like she'd been badly hurt, just a little banged up. It was his fault for forgetting just how fragile she was.

Ash sighed dejectedly and walked out of the Center, taking a moment to apologize to anyone he rudely slipped past. There wasn't much for him to do for the rest of the day. It was almost night, but he figured he had enough time to pick up some supplies before he went to bed.

Not that he would get much sleep. Thoughts of vengeance for all of Team Rocket's victims – the drowned victims of the St. Anne, the pokemon that had been warped and twisted by the nefarious organization, the people that had been killed and terrorized – roared through his mind, demanding action. He didn't see it going away any time soon.

But a small smile made its way onto his face as he walked through the busy streets of Viridian. Vengeance was coming, and what was probably the most powerful of Team Rocket's supporters would be detained shortly. Whoever the head of the mysterious organization was, they would be furious when they heard of the setback.

That was the thought that kept a smile on his face as he went to the nearest Poke Mart and happily bought all of the supplies he would need through the depths of Viridian Forest.

XX

Something was shaking him awake. He sleepily opened his eyes and saw Tangrowth lightly poking him. "I'm up, buddy. What is it?"

Tangrowth gurgled and pointed at the door. Ash shrugged and pulled his shirt on from his night stand before he went over and peered out the hole before opening it up. His friend waddled up behind him and curiously peered over at the man standing in front of the door.

Had his friend not been there, Ash would never have opened a door for a stranger. The memory of the St. Anne still stuck with him, even if that part of it was a little fuzzy. But he was confident that Tangrowth was strong enough to protect him. If not, Torrent would be more than happy to oblige.

"Hello?" Ash stared up with distrustful eyes. The man that stood before him was odd, to say the least. He had dark purple hair, which was matched by his pants and sleeves. His formal attire – a mask that covered his eyes and a black coat – was a stark contrast to Ash's slightly dirty travelling clothes.

"Ash Ketchum?" The man asked in a friendly manner. Ash cautiously nodded.

"Who are you?" He asked bluntly, rubbing his tired eyes. Ash hadn't gotten as much sleep as he would have liked, and something told him that it was very early in the morning. But something about this man seemed familiar.

The man's lilac eyes widened behind his mask. "Ah, I apologize for my rudeness!" He said with a little bow. "My name is Will, trainee of the Elite Four and apprentice of Sabrina!"

Ash blinked. Now he knew where he'd seen the man. Aside from being mentioned by Lance, he was the Champion of the Indigo Conference two years ago. That had been a fun one to watch. Will, despite his odd appearance, had similar, albeit weaker, abilities to Sabrina that allowed him to command his powerful pokemon telepathically. It had been an interesting twist.

"May I come in?" Will requested. Ash nodded and stood back. The Elite Four trainee smiled at Tangrowth. "Hello, my good grass-type! I am pleased to make your acquaintance."

Tangrowth gurgled and poked Will in the head, dislodging his mask a bit. The tall man just laughed and poked Tangrowth back, eliciting a quizzical stare from the grass-type. Will laughed again and slipped into one of the chairs in the room.

"It's been too long since I travelled like an ordinary trainer." He mused, glancing around the dark room with curious eyes. "I'm afraid the League has spoiled me. Anyways, back to business." Will coughed politely. Ash sat down in the chair across from him. "Champion Lance has requested your presence at the Elite Four rally site. I'm to take you to him."

Ash frowned. "I need to get my pokemon."

"I already checked on them." Will replied. He had the grace to glance away. "They are not ready to leave quite yet. Regardless, you will not be a part of what is to come."

"Why does Lance want me there, then?" Ash questioned.

Will smiled. "You'll have to ask him that yourself." He said jovially. The man offered a gloved hand to Ash. "I can teleport you there."

Ash felt troubled about leaving his friends behind, even if they were likely unconscious and doped up on full restores at the moment, but he took the Psychic's hand once he recalled Tangrowth. If Lance wanted to see him, Ash would oblige.

The Psychic closed his eyes and focused for a moment. Ash squeezed his eyes shut as they hurtled through a whirlwind. His body felt extremely heavy for a few brief moments before it suddenly returned to normal weight. When the world solidified around them, Ash collapsed to the soft ground and emptied the contents of his stomach onto the loamy soil.

"I apologize for that." Will said embarrassedly. "I'm still learning teleportation, and I'm afraid that my skill and power doesn't even compare to Sabrina's. It was a bit rough."

Ash just groaned and stood up on shaky legs. That was nothing like all of his other teleportation experiences. Instead of being a smooth rift in space and time, it was like Will had punched through and dragged Ash along.

"But here we are." Will gestured grandiosely. Ash realized that they were just a few dozen feet away from a small camp filled to the brim with trainers and equipment. There were several guards with grim expressions walking towards them as they spoke.

"Did anyone see you?" The first of them, a short man with darting, suspicious eyes asked.

Will shook his head with an easy smile. "Of course not, my good fellow. The guards and police had nothing to suspect. Giovanni doesn't know about the assault yet."

"That damn outfit is gonna get you caught one of these days." The gruff guard growled. Ash met his eyes unflinchingly as the guard turned his gaze on the young trainer. "Guess you're the kid the Elite have been talking about, eh?"

Ash nodded, but didn't say anything. He was still feeling a bit sick from the disastrous teleportation and a little out of his element. This was a far cry from the operation he had helped with in the Sevii Islands. He'd never been involved with the Rangers and League forces working on the mission aside from the ones in charge of transportation.

"Will, the Champion wants to see you and the little guy." One of the other guards spoke up. He seemed young, just out of his teens. Ash glared at his title. "Gym Leader Sabrina has been wanting to see you two as well. She should be with Lance."

"Of course. We'll be on our way, then." Will said with a bow. Ash followed the tall man as they made their way into the camp. He attracted quite a bit of attention from the Rangers and the grim men and women in dark, plain blue uniforms.

He knew the Rangers. They were an organization that was modelled after the Pokemon Rangers that governed Fiore and Almia. In Indigo, the Rangers generally served as the League's main source of fighters outside of the police force and actually used captured pokemon instead of the strange way of the Pokemon Rangers. Although most of the time they simply wandered and protected the area they stood in and its inhabitants, they could be called into direct action by the League if necessary.

Ash glanced at the scowling trainers curiously. He didn't recognize their uniform or where they'd fit in with the League. They were obviously part of the police, but wasn't sure how far up they went. "Who are they?"

"ACE. They're an elite force of the Rangers." Will replied, automatically knowing who Ash was talking about. "They're the best the League has to offer aside from the Elite Four. Most of them are drawn from finalists in the Conference. Each and every one is a veteran of dealing with Team Rocket. Not the most cheerful fellows, but they get the job done."

He absentmindedly nodded. The League really meant business if they were drawing from that Conference Finalists. This was more than a force to lock the gym down should Giovanni try to fight – this was an army, drawn from the best Kanto had to offer. Giovanni had no chance now, not when the Elite Four were supported by trainers of this level.

"So this is an invasion?" He spoke up, taking in the large camp with broad, sweeping glances. It was well organized. Ordinary Rangers were partitioned off into one area while the ACE trainers kept to themselves. There was a section guarded by two silent ACE trainers that they were approaching.

"Indeed." Will replied as he waved the two through the checkpoint. "Giovanni has a powerful psychic at his disposal. I saw the reports on the St. Anne and the prison that was destroyed. The psychic is probably nothing more than a pokemon enhanced by technological means, but its power is very real."

Will sent a quick glance back at Ash. "This is the largest force assembled in the last thirty years. A single member of the Elite Four is usually capable of dealing with any Rocket force. But we are taking every precaution in dealing with this threat. We saw the videos that our Porygon teams gained from the Viridian gym files. It's capable of defeating most pokemon like they're nothing."

"Do you think it has any chance?" Ash scowled, remembering the destruction the monster had wreaked. It was strong, but it would be defeated today.

"No." Will said adamantly, a sudden shift from his formerly soft, polite tone. "Perhaps it could defeat a single member of the Elite Four, perhaps even two of the Elites working in tandem. But the psychic is only mortal. We have taken every precaution and will attack with overwhelming force. Our dear friend Giovanni is helpless." He suddenly pointed to a large tent with the symbol of Kanto burned into the front. "There is Lance's tent."

Will stepped in first. Ash followed directly after. The tent was warm, but not uncomfortably hot. He suspected that there was some pokemon at work. It was incredibly spacious and several tables had been put up.

Ash grinned when he saw three famous figures standing around one of the larger tables. Another was less famous, but one he knew better. Then there was one figure he couldn't quite make out – she was shrouded in shadows from where he stood.

"Hello, everyone!" Will exclaimed. The figures looked up and Ash suddenly had a wide grin on his face.

Lorelei was the first one to glance over. From the pictures he'd seen, she normally looked like she had just walked out of a classroom. Now, however, she wore clothing like Lance had in the Sevii Islands, although even more tightly-fit in order to allow for mobility.

Agatha was next. Her eyes were mismatched: one was black and one was a pale blue. It was disconcerting, but didn't look out of place on the Crone's wizened face. While she was old, she didn't appear to be ancient. The old woman's eyes were as sharp as ever and her spirit's strength made up for what her body lacked. When she saw Ash her eyes narrowed in a knowing expression.

Lance was the last of the Indigo Elite Four. He was wearing the same outfit as in the Sevii Islands and had a wide grin on his face. "Ash! Will! How's it going?"

"Good." Ash replied stiffly. He could feel the eyes of the rest of the Elite Four on him. "Where's Bruno?"

"Still off in Celadon." Lance said with a feral grin. "He's not too happy with Erika. Not that I am either." His eyes darkened before a boisterous smile reappeared. "Anyways, let me introduce you to the rest of my associates." He pointed at Lorelei. "This is Lorelei. I'm sure you've seen her – she was helping to secure the warehouse in the Sevii Islands."

Lorelei smiled and waved at him. "I've heard a lot about you. You've made a good impression on some very important people. Keep the attitude you have now and you'll go far."

Ash nodded back with a slightly stiff smile. Lorelei seemed friendly, but he still felt a little uncomfortable. "Thanks, I'll remember that."

Lance pointed at Agatha. Ash noticed that her shadow seemed a bit too corporeal for comfort. For just a moment he saw it grow and writhe before settling down. It looked like Agatha didn't always keep her Gengar in a pokeball. "Agatha."

She rapped her cane on the ground and gave a disconcertingly kind smile at the trainer. It didn't fit what Ash had heard about her personality. "Indeed. So you're Oak's little prodigy. I've heard far too much about you."

Ash smiled. That was more like the Revenant Crone he'd heard about. He hadn't had much opportunity to hone his sarcasm in the wilderness, but he figured Agatha would appreciate it. "I'm sure you'll hear even more about me soon enough."

"Oh, so you have spirit!" Agatha cackled. "Not just another young fool with more brawn than brains. We'll see if it holds up until the Indigo Conference."

"I'm sure he will." Lance interrupted. Agatha gave Ash a crooked smile before settling back to her previous position. Her old-fashioned clothing was in stark contrast to the other Elite Four members' tight, flexible suits, but she looked no less powerful for it. "Ash, you know Sabrina."

He smiled at Sabrina, who returned it warmly. "You have grown stronger. Bruno taught you well."

"He did." He replied with a quick grin. "I learned a lot from him."

Sabrina closed her eyes and breathed deeply. When she opened them they were alit with bright blue energy. The air around her face shined a deep blue and distorted from its presence. "The Ice is fading from you. But it will be replaced soon."

Ash frowned. He didn't think he was forgetting about the encounter with Articuno, but Sabrina would know better than he did. But he didn't like the implications – would he be encountering something just as powerful in the future?

He held back a sigh when he saw Sabrina's lips upturn. That confirmed that something huge was going to happen soon, although he noted that they shifted into her normal stoic expression moments later. Sabrina withdrew suddenly, and the light in her eyes flickered and died, leaving nothing but bright red behind.

"Karen, say hello." Lance said with a small grin. Ash heard a sigh as the figure in the shadows stepped forward. They seemed to bend around and cling to her before falling away to reveal the form of a tall, willowy teenage girl, probably eight years older than him. She had long, silvery hair and wore a surprisingly casual outfit considering the circumstances.

"So you're the trainer that has the Rockets quaking in their boots. How amusing." The girl began with a haughty smirk. Her silver-blue eyes glittered unfathomably. "I would have expected you to be taller. My opinion of the Rockets is plummeting as we speak."

Ash blinked. He hadn't expected that.

Karen inspected him again before turning away and retreating back into the shadows. She didn't seem very impressed with him. Ash just glanced at Lance helplessly, not really sure how he was supposed to respond to that. Most people he'd met so far had been friendly, or at the very least polite. Not many people had reacted with outright disdain.

Lance just gazed at Karen in disappointment before turning back to Ash and Will. "Both of you, come over here. You need to know the plan."

"I thought I wasn't participating." Ash frowned as he walked over. Will guided him over to the spot that had been reserved for him, right between Lorelei and Will.

"You aren't." The Champion replied, glancing at Ash before looking at the map in front of them. It appeared to be the location of and around Viridian gym. "This is too dangerous, and I won't allow you to take on something like this psychic. Only League forces will be participating."

Ash's brow furrowed. Why he was he here, then? He'd reported everything he knew of the psychic's capabilities, which wasn't that much. All he really knew was that it was vastly powerful and would probably require an army to take down – which the League seemed to have taken into account.

"I called you here so you could watch." Lance revealed. "We wouldn't have caught onto Giovanni's indiscretions if you hadn't called, not for a while, at least. You deserve to see his fall. Team Rocket is going to be dealt a major blow today. Besides, it'll be educational." He laughed.

Lance pointed at the gym as Ash grinned in excitement and thanks. "Here's the plan. The ACE trainers are going to surround the facility from different vantage points. They're armed with psychics, ghosts, and dark-types. If Giovanni doesn't peacefully surrender, we're going to blast the psychic with everything we've got. Karen is in charge of that group."

"The Rangers will be evacuating the immediate area." Lance said as he pointed out a large radius around the gym. "We need to protect the civilians in case of a battle. Sabrina and Will are responsible for restraining the psychic and giving the rest of us a chance to attack."

Lance glanced around with a hard, determined face. Each of the Elite Four met his eyes with the same serious look. Ash's eyes were set as well. He might not be fighting, but he'd be willing to help if it came to that.

"The Elite Four will approach the gym and apprehend Giovanni." The Champion said seriously. His hands were clenching the edge of the table and were white from the pressure. "If he calls upon the psychic, we will do our best to defeat it. Should our initial attempts fail, we will retreat and allow the rest of the plan to follow through. There can be no mistakes. We know what this psychic is capable of, and Team Rocket must not be allowed to harness its power any longer. The St. Anne was only the beginning – a test."

Ash's eyes widened. Team Rocket had destroyed the St. Anne to try out their newest weapon? They had condemned thousands to death just to see what their new toy could do? His teeth gnashed together and fury rose in his heart. He'd enjoy watching Giovanni fall.

"We leave in ten minutes." Lance finished heavily. He stood up and glanced around. "Prepare yourselves. This will be like nothing that we have seen before. Ash, come with me."

As Lance walked outside, Ash rose and followed him. The inhabitants of the tent gazed after them, some curious and one condescending. Ash paid no heed to them. He winced as the bright light of the sun hit his eyes, which had grown accustomed to the dim tent, but didn't let it bother him too much.

He followed Lance until they stood on the edge of a high cliff. It overlooked miles of unbroken forest and showed Viridian City far off into the distance, barely a dot on the horizon. The sight was beautiful, but he knew it wasn't what Lance had pulled him away for.

Ash stood next to the Champion and crossed his arms in the same manner Lance was. The bright morning sun cast them in a long shadow, both of which melded together. Lance looked down at Ash, his angular face inscrutable.

"You did a good thing." Lance said quietly. "I don't know how high up in Team Rocket Giovanni is, but he's important. They won't recover from this." He was quiet for a few seconds. Ash listened attentively, locked onto every word of the Champion. "You won't be on the ground. It's too dangerous there. You'll be watching from the sky."

Realization dawned on Ash as Lance unclipped a pokeball from his belt and released a gigantic dragonair that Ash recognized as Saph. The dragonair cooed at the two and wrapped around both trainers in greeting. Ash laughed and patted her side. Lance just smiled and stroked the top of her smooth head.

"Won't you need her?" Ash asked as Saph unwound from around them and cocked her head. He lightly rubbed her smooth scales.

"She's not ready for this yet." Lance's eyes were a bit regretful. Saph growled quietly, eliciting a shake of his head. "Saph, you're stronger than most pokemon can hope to be. But I need the main team for this one."

Saph cooed understandingly and snapped toward Lance so that she could lick his cheek. Lance smiled and scratched behind one of the tiny wings adorning her head. He glanced over at Ash. "She'll get you where you need to go. Saph can make some cover so that the two of you won't be seen by the guards." Lance suddenly smirked. "I hope you don't mind getting wet."

Ash sighed. He where this was going. They were travelling by air and they needed cover. What better than a cloud?

The dragonair suddenly moved so that Ash could get on her long, thick body. Ash climbed up and glanced over at Lance. "Good luck."

Lance grinned wildly. "The Rockets will need it more than us." He sobered up after that. "Hopefully none of us will need it. I don't want this getting messy." The Champion shook his head and snapped his fingers. Saph reared up and launched into the air.

He yelped in surprise as Saph took off at a great speed, much faster than she had been the last time he rode her. Apparently any speed was fine as long as he didn't have a concussion. Saph rumbled happily as she smoothly maneuvered through the air. The wind bent around her and left her in a bubble of calm air. Ash was just glad that she could do that – he wasn't being buffeted too badly by the winds at such a high altitude, which was nice.

Ash glanced down at the forest. They were probably two thousand feet up in the air. The air was getting thinner but not too insubstantial. His stomach lurched when he looked down at the trees, which were little more than multihued green dots. He grabbed onto Saph tighter, grateful that her scales were just rough enough to get a good grip on.

The bundle of smooth jewels on her tail and under her neck began to shine brightly as they neared the city. Ash sighed when moisture began to gather around them and condense into a large cloud that shrouded them from prying eyes. He'd expected it to soak him to the bone judging from Lance's warning, but it was more like he walked into a cold fog than anything else. His clothes were damp, but that was about it.

Saph gave a low, haunting call as she raced towards Viridian. Ash managed to force himself to look down after nearly a minute of flying and saw that, through the white fog encasing them, they were just a little bit away from Viridian. Its small, Spartan buildings soon began to pass underneath them at a dizzying speed.

Ash began to feel a little queasy and looked up. He hadn't realized just how fast Saph was. Her manipulation of the air currents made it feel as though they were just gliding along, when in reality they were barreling through the air. The trainer wondered just how fast Plume was in comparison.

The dragonair gave another cry as she suddenly dove down and stopped. Ash closed his eyes and clenched onto Saph's large body as she suddenly ground to a halt. The kickback was enormous and made him wince from the pain. It faded quickly enough, however, and he recovered enough to peer down at the gym, which was recognizable even from their height hundreds of feet above it.

He could see the ACE trainers positioned on top of the buildings. They were nearly invisible, but he could just barely make out their definition. The streets around the gym were completely deserted, and the guards in front of the gym were the only one humans he could see.

"What do you think will happen?" Ash asked quietly, thoughts strangely calm. He was about to see Giovanni given justice, and he wasn't even sure he could feel happy about it yet. It was like he was in shock.

Saph cooed softly to him and peered back at him with wide, sapphire eyes. She flicked her tongue out of her mouth and blinked before nodding toward the gym. Ash followed her gaze and saw three figures stepping towards the security checkpoint. Lance's massive frame was clearly visible, as was Lorelei's slim body and Agatha's old, frail form.

The guard seemed to be in shock and immediately let them in. Ash grinned at that – he had probably never expected three of the Elite Four to be in one place outside of Indigo Plateau, let alone at the gym. Lance nodded to the guard but was stopped by the two men in bronze armor.

A few stern words from the Champion appeared to force the guards to relent. They stood back and opened the door for the Elite Four, but Ash saw one of them speak into some sort of communications device. Ash figured he was warning Giovanni.

It was a quiet situation as the Elite Four entered the gym to confront Giovanni, so Ash took some time to analyze where each of the ACE trainers were. That way he would know where to watch if a battle came to pass.

Most were on roof tops, mainly partnered up with another trainer. Some were on the street or in alleys and they looked to be alone. Ash spotted Karen skulking in the shadows with two of the powerful trainers flanking her. He wondered just how powerful she was to be an Elite Four member in training. She certainly hadn't received the position for her attitude.

Will and Sabrina were situated together on top of a large building. They both sat cross-legged on the dirty surface and seemed deep in meditation. Their pokeballs circled them continuously, held aloft by a constant flow of psychic energy. He could see energy pulsing beneath their eyelids, giving the two psychics and eerie appearance.

He glanced away from the psychics. They weren't interesting yet, and he wanted to see if there were any more forces he could discover. This was an incredibly powerful force, but –

Pain.

Ash heard a distant scream echoing through the blood pounding in his ears and numbly realized it was own. He clutched his head so tightly that his nails drew light trails of blood, but that was barely noticeable compared to the vast, piercing lance that stabbed into his mind and twisted until he screamed and bled and burned.

And then there was nothing. Ash panted heavily as he began to see something aside from whiteness of his agony. The pain had vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, replaced by a gentle, soothing caress that kept him calm and healed the damage to his mind.

He shuddered briefly and wiped his eyes. It felt as though he should be crying from the pain. There was nothing.

Saph seemed fine, however, if strained. Her eyes were closed, the thick, glossy blue hidden from the world. She seemed to be maintaining all of her energy towards staying aloft or maintaining her own influence.

"Thank you." He gasped, coughing as the aftereffects of the strange assault wracked his body. Saph cried out gently. Ash clenched his teeth and stared down at the gym. It looked like things hadn't gone over diplomatically.

That was made all the more apparent as the Elite Four were dragged into his vision by a corporeal shadow with bright red eyes and a wide, grinning set of sharp fangs. Agatha seemed furious and rapped her cane against the ground. Another Gengar popped out of the nearby shadows and whisked her away to the top of a building where she would be safe. The first one followed and appeared by her side.

A ghostly pokemon Ash as a Mismagius appeared beside her as well, its features obscured by its large hat. What must have been some sort of foreign pokemon also materialized, its single, blazing orange eye cold and furious. It appeared to have a scowling face on its ethereal chest and was connected to the ground by a tendril of shadowy energy.

The ACE trainers quickly released their own pokemon. They seemed to have recovered from the assault when Agatha's ghosts appeared, although they were still wincing in agony. Each quickly released their own ghosts, dark-types and psychics. The psychics' eyes immediately began glowing, as though they were empowered by some otherworldly force.

Ash shuddered as a wave of gloom and cutting cold spread through the air thanks to the presence of so many ghost-types. He felt a brief surge of paralyzing fear wash over him, a natural response to large numbers of ghosts, but he fought it down with an iron will.

Ghost-types naturally disrupted a psychic's powers – they weren't of this dimension and warped reality to the tiniest extent wherever they appeared, which in turn disrupted a psychic's ability to manipulate reality.

Dark-types simply had another kind of energy theorized to be from a universe where everything was distorted coursing through their bodies. It meant that they produced an energy field that completely prevented psychic energy from directly affecting them, unlike ghosts, who were incredibly vulnerable to psychics thanks to not being firmly grounded in reality – they were in a sort of halfway state. Ghosts couldn't be killed, but their corporeal forms could be destroyed. They could reform quickly if powerful enough, but most would be left as nothing more than wisps for months or years.

So it made sense that almost all of the pokemon released were of the ghost and dark-types. They would be the only thing to really stand up to a psychic pokemon that powerful.

Ash watched with clenched fists as Lance released six massive, overwhelmingly powerful pokemon: Two Dragonite, one of which was the one Ash had met previously, a Charizard that rivalled Professor Oak's, a Kingdra that made Torrent look tiny in comparison, the Aerodactyl that Ash had seen at the Rocket Warehouse, and a Gyarados that took up the entire city square in front of the gym.

Lance's face was stone as he leapt onto Dragonite's back and took off into the air, too fast for Ash to see as anything but a blur. His second Dragonite immediately followed. Aerodactyl and Charizard took to the skies as well, but Kingdra and Gyarados simply watched and waited. Each seemed to know exactly what to do, even without Lance's output.

Lorelei moved like water as she released her pokemon in smooth, flowing motions. A gigantic Mamoswine appeared beside her and reared up, while a Cloyster, Lapras, and Slowking materialized in a semicircle around the Ice Queen. They were tense and ready to attack.

He was well aware that these were the most powerful pokemon he had ever seen. Only Professor Oak could rival them. Each of these pokemon were capable of destroying a town in a day and defeating an army of lesser pokemon with little effort.

These were the kind of men and women who, in times long past, had possessed the strength to band together and unite an entire nation. Their pokemon were practically undefeatable, the greatest specimens of their breed.

On their own, the three members of the Elite Four would be able to defeat anything that the world could throw at them. Supported by some of the strongest trainers Kanto could offer they were the most powerful fighting force Kanto had seen in a very long time.

These were the Masters.

But his attention was now drawn to the gym. It was rattling and some of the more ornate pieces of the impressive building were falling off. He blinked as a small section of the roof exploded, sending rubble flying high into the air.

He could see that something was hidden in the smoke – a pair of burning blue eyes that seemed subdued in some way he couldn't place were clearly visible in the thick haze. But they flashed again and caused the smoke to be blasted into the atmosphere, leaving the figure that had haunted Ash's thoughts visible for everyone to see.

A humanoid figure hung in the air, supported by nothing but its own mind and willpower. Sleek armor covered the creature, leaving thin sections of its body exposed. What wasn't black and metallic was covered with thin, gray fur. But the glowing eyes that were hidden behind the black, unfeeling visor attracted the most attention.

The creature was silent. Everything froze for just a moment as they took in the entity that had proven to be such a menace.

Even Lance took a moment to examine it and had Dragonite slow down. He suddenly scowled. "Attack!"

It was bombarded with a hundred attacks at once by the ACE trainers' teams. Shadow Balls, Dark Pulses, Night Dazes, and Ominous Winds blasted towards it, enough to kill even the most powerful psychic. Ash even caught a few psybeams and other psychic-type attacks in the mix, each far, far brighter than they should be.

The Creature seemed to regard them with disinterest as it flicked its wrist. A supernova flashed through the city as its energy set to work. Bright energy encompassed the Creature in a protective cube. Ash watched in horror as the attacks that should have carved straight through the barrier washed off harmlessly.

It flicked its wrist again and sent a shockwave towards the ground. The attack didn't really do much, but it provided enough of a distraction for the creature to raise one armored arm and create an orb that shined as brightly as the sun in the time it took Ash to blink.

As the next volley of attacks launched, tiny beams of multicolored energy that shot out from the blue sun seamlessly intercepted each one, vaporizing even ghost and dark-type attacks. After the explosions were finished, Ash saw a countless number of intense blue beams shoot out from the small blue sun and shoot a hole through every ghost-type's chest.

Ash felt true fear for the first time as he saw every ghost-type in the area glance down in shock at the hole in their corporeal form. Even Agatha's pokemon had been struck by the psychic beam.

An instant later their corporeal forms exploded in a puff of ghostly energy before diffusing into the atmosphere. Each of the ACE trainers reacted quickly and recalled their pokemon immediately, although Ash noted that Agatha's ghosts reformed after just a few seconds.

Agatha seemed furious. She tapped her cane against the building again, prompting her ghosts to immediately appear next to the Creature. They launched a flurry of attacks, but the Creature simply glanced at the ghosts with burning eyes and they exploded into their incorporeal forms.

Ash shuddered as Agatha was forced to recall her powerful pokemon, the only ones that had a chance to disrupt the Creature's power to begin with. It was up to the rest of the Elite Four now.

Saph cried out mournfully at the scene as Lance began his assault. The Champion fearlessly commanded his draconic beasts as they darted at and around the Creature, blasting it with streams of fire and energy that would easily destroy a building. Ash couldn't even see the Creature as it was consumed in an inferno of fire, ice, lightning, and several hyper beams.

Lorelei began her assault as well, followed by Karen. Her ice and water-types bravely began to fire ice beams and blasts of water that would effortlessly slice through steel, adding the powerful attacks to Lance's coordinated assault.

Karen looked tense as her Umbreon, Houndoom, and a large, white pokemon with a large scythe on the side of its head shot intense blasts of dark-type energy at the Creature. Although Ash couldn't see their effect, he knew it was the most likely thing to actually hurt the Creature now, especially since the ACE trainers were still supporting the Elite Four with their own dark-types.

He frowned and wondered uneasily what Will and Sabrina were doing. Ash glanced over at their former location and realized why the Creature hadn't retaliated yet. Both humans had released their pokemon, who were arranged around them in a circle. All the powerful psychics were staring at the Creature, who was barely visible behind the enormous amount of attacks being thrown at it, with eyes far brighter than any Ash had ever seen.

Ash assumed that they were doing their best to distract the Creature, or at least take over its mind for a few brief seconds. Their efforts were at least preventing the Creature from acting, so they were getting something done. Hopefully the combined force of the fourteen incredibly powerful psychics would be enough to lock the Creature into place and give the Elite Four and the ACE trainers enough time to take it down for good.

The stalemate continued for another minute. During that time he began to desperately think of any way that he could possibly help or make a difference with Tangrowth and Torrent.

There wasn't one.

Neither side was able to hurt the other, but Ash could tell that the ACE pokemon were beginning to falter. It was difficult to keep a sustained assault like that up, and even they couldn't keep it up forever.

But the Creature was unable to retaliate either. It seemed to have enough presence of mind to casually deflect the incredible power of the attacks being thrown at it relentlessly but was too distracted by the psychics to actually finish the fight.

Ash's palms began to sweat and the pit in his stomach began to grow when he saw each of the psychics – each some of the most powerful in the world, human or pokemon – suddenly freeze. Their eyes, which had been mostly light blue or pink, suddenly blazed in a supernova of ice blue energy. The psychics had lost their mental war with the Creature – it was just too strong.

The light hiding behind their eyes suddenly snuffed out, leaving them to collapse to the ground. Even Sabrina – the most powerful human psychic in the world, on par with an Alakazam – and her monster of an Alakazam had fallen to the Creature's might. Ash wasn't sure if they were unconscious or dead. He wasn't exactly an expert on psychic combat but he dearly hoped they were just unconscious.

Lance zoomed by on Dragonite's back and whistled. From the brief flash Ash saw on his face, Lance knew that their chances of victory were shrinking quickly. He had a hard look of determination in his narrow eyes. There was no fear.

All of Lance's pokemon attacked at once. Each fired a hyper beam from their mouth that bathed over the Creature in a wave of golden and orange energy. Ash had to turn away from it. The heat and sheer energy released by the hyper beams was incredible that it felt as though it were burning him, even from hundreds of feet away.

The Creature banished the explosions in a swirl of psychic energy. Ash clenched his teeth even as Saph cried out mournfully. Each of Lance's pokemon barely seemed affected by the immense strain they had just put their bodies under, but all the attack had done was show that the Creature was practically invincible. Those hyper beams would be enough to destroy almost anything – if it could block that that then nothing they could do would affect it.

Lance didn't give up, however. He whistled again, this time at a higher pitch, which caused his monstrously powerful pokemon to snap into action and begin their attack anew. The ACE trainers did their best to support him, and Lorelei continued to blast the Creature with powerful ice and water-type attacks over and over again to little effect.

Agatha's ghosts were flitting around the battlefield, hurling shadow balls before slipping back into the darkness. Every time they were struck by a tiny beam of the icy light, their physical forms exploded before reforming moments later. But it was starting to drain on them, Ash could see. It was taking longer to force their physical form back into being.

Finally, the Creature seemed to have enough of the battle. The shield it had raised blasted outward, encasing around each pokemon it hit and locking them into place. Even Lance's pokemon were affected. They growled, but couldn't even thrash against their psychic bonds. All of the others were unable to even make a sound.

It was eerie watching the Creature stare at the pokemon in disgust, casually sending them hurtling into the ground one by one with a flick of its wrist. Ash thought it seemed slightly tired, but not enough to stop it from battling with the same ruthless power it had used the entire fight.

Luckily, Saph was far enough away to avoid the psychic blast. It faded out of existence mere moments before it would have frozen her in an aura of psychic power. Ash watched in horror as the Creature suddenly hurled Lance's second Dragonite to the ground at crushing force, although it would only be enough to bruise the powerful creature. The brutality of the act and the worry of what was to come was what really bothered him.

"Saph, can you support a Tangrowth?" He questioned, blanching as he realized what was going to happen soon. Saph cooed a reply that he took as an affirmative. "When I release him, fly towards Lance and Dragonite as fast as you can."

Ash quickly released his large friend, who wrapped one arm around Ash happily. The trainer glanced up. "Tangrowth, I need you to catch a man if you see him falling. Make sure he stays safe."

Tangrowth gurgled a reply and wrapped around Saph's long body even as the dragonair took off. She didn't bother spending the time manipulating air currents, and for good reason – the Creature had just flicked its wrist and sent Dragonite and Lance hurtling to the ground. From that height it would be fatal.

Lance was unable to hold onto Dragonite as the Creature assisted gravity's call. His form was sent flying into the air, helplessly grasping for something to keep him from splattering against the pavement below. Ash could see him growing closer and closer as Saph launched herself through the air as fast as she could. Just a few seconds before the Champion hit the ground, several long, dexterous vines wrapped around him and yanked him onto Saph's back.

Ash pumped his fist in victory as the Champion was settled onto Saph, but that turned into a cry of surprise when one of the tiny, bright blue beams of energy shot out from the Creature's armored hands and slammed into Saph's side, carving a large, neat hole through her long blue body.

Fortunately, they were close to the ground. Saph slammed into the marble surface of the gym's exterior before crashing into the hard ground. She groaned pitifully in pain. Ash saw that she wasn't able to move her body past the hole. It had burned straight through her spine, but there was little blood. The immense energy in the beam had cauterized the wound.

He gasped as he slammed into the ground. The air was knocked out of him and it felt like he'd cracked a rib. Every breath felt as though a knife was stabbing into his side. Nevertheless, Ash pulled himself up. Tangrowth assisted him a bit and tried to stand in front of the trainer's body in a protective reaction.

Ash wheezed and gratefully nodded at Tangrowth, who gurgled sadly in reply. He winced as he turned to look at Lance. The Champion was hard-faced and had returned Saph. There was no noticeable sorrow on his face, but his eyes shined with immeasurable sadness. But he was all business as he hobbled over to Ash as fast as he could with what looked to be a badly injured leg. While he couldn't see the specific injury, Ash could see a lot of blood and the leg seemed misshapen.

"We have to get out of here!" Lance shouted. He grabbed Ash's arm and began to limp and lead him away, but they both stopped and clutched their heads in pain as another supernova of light blasted through the square. Ash looked up with eyes nearly squeezed shut from the pain and saw that every person and pokemon in the area had been locked down.

The Creature suddenly appeared in front of them, its armor menacing and dark in the sunlight. But what scared Ash the most were the burning blue eyes. They held no fear, no sorrow, and no regret. He couldn't even see what they really looked like.

Lance stood in front of Ash and met the Creature's eyes fearlessly. Ash took the opportunity to recall Tangrowth, ignoring his friend's fearful gurgle. He looked past Lance's large body and met the Creature's eyes himself.

He was going to die.

He would not die a coward. He would not bring one of his best friends to die with him. He would not die without staring his death in the face and making it watch and see what it had done.

A long, armored arm swung up and pointed at the two trainers. Three large, orb-like fingers crushed together as a miniature sun of blue ice appeared in front of it. It intensified until it looked as though it would be able to wipe Viridian off the map with a careless gesture.

"_**The Champion of Indigo and a Child**__."_ A deep, masculine voice echoed inside of Ash's mind. He crushed his hands to his ears in a futile action to stop the horrific pain as the words ripped through his mind and split his brain in two. Ash was in too much agony to be properly awed at the fact that he was actually hearing a pokemon speak. "_**I had not expected the honor. This confrontation was not expected for a long time yet. My partner believed that you and your Elite Four would be a proper test of my skills, Champion.**_ _**He was right. This battle was amusing. It will be a shame that none of its participants save I shall be alive to remember it."**_

Ash refused to close his eyes and stared straight into the Creature's eyes as the glow intensified even further. He idly wondered if there would be anything left of the two to find. The energy being collected in the Creature's grip looked like enough to reduce them to atoms.

But death did not come immediately, as he had expected. Instead the creature continued to stare at them. There was no pity in its glowing blue eyes, but the light pulsed in annoyance.

"_**Champion, step away from the child and it will live**_." The voice wracked their brains again, the pain even worse thanks to the annoyance bristling in its words. Lance accepted and began to step away from Ash, but the trainer refused to let the injured Champion do that.

Lance was worth much more to Kanto and Indigo than he was. Ash was an up and coming trainer, but Lance was a leader, a symbol of the strength and fighting spirit of the League. He was a legend, the role model of every young trainer in the region, an enduring fighter and great warrior.

He wouldn't let the Champion die. Even if Lance was just a symbol or famous figure Ash knew of, he wouldn't let the man die. But Lance was more than that: He was a friend, and Ash held the power to potentially save his life.

So he grabbed the badly injured, barely conscious Champion – now that he looked closer, he could see blood dribbling from a large gash on the Champion's face and the arm that was at an angle that no arm should ever bend to – and forced him to the ground. Ash repaid the favor Lance had tried to do him and stood in front of the horribly wounded Champion.

Lance was barely conscious, but he had still tried to shield Ash and save his life when the opportunity presented itself. Ash would show the Champion the same respect and honor.

The Champion tried to stand up and hobble away from Ash so that the boy's life would be spared, but he was unable to force himself up on his one good arm and collapsed to the ground. Ash couldn't stare away from the Creature's eyes, daring the Creature to strike him down and violate whatever almost-forgotten principle or order kept it from simply killing him.

At first it appeared that the Creature would pay no heed to whatever voice was telling it to spare Ash, but it casually snuffed out the orb of light that would reduce his body and mind to nothing but atoms.

He couldn't see past its shiny black visor, but Ash could tell that it was staring at him with its own form of annoyance.

"_**Consider yourselves lucky**_." It said flatly, driving another spike of pain through his mind. "_**My partner is acting irrationally. He will not allow you to be hurt, and unfortunately my power is too great to so much as touch you without crushing your body into a bloody pulp.**_"

It whipped its large tail around angrily. "_**It is a mistake, but I will honor my partner's wishes**_. _**Besides, it looks like more of your misguided allies have arrived." **_The Creature said, annoyance echoing in its painful mental roar. Ash could see dozens of people in Viridian City police uniforms rushing onto the scene behind the Creature. "_**Perhaps this is for the best. My message has been sent**_.

The Creature rose from the ground, not obviously harnessing any sort of energy and stared down at the two in disgust. "_**I will meet you again, Champion. You will not be protected by the child forever. I will claim your life, and next time not even my partner's protests will spare you**_**."**

Ash watched in awe as the Creature rose far above the ground before glancing over the area in disgust. It teleported away with no visible effort, leaving the scars of its presence over the entire area. He collapsed to the ground on trembling limbs and glanced over sorrowfully at Lance. The Champion had fallen into unconsciousness from the severity of his injuries.

Thoughts of the Creature roiled in his tired mind as he stared at the Champion's lax face, watching worriedly as the large man lightly breathed and gasped in air. The Creature was nothing like the world had ever seen. It had defeated at least a hundred ghosts without trying, along with their dark-type counterparts. It made psychics more powerful than they should be and still defeated fourteen of the greatest psychics in the world, all the while defending against an army and the Elite Four.

It had defeated the Champion as though he were nothing and had locked hundreds of incredibly powerful pokemon into place while still being able to harness its power and speak into their minds.

He sighed and closed his eyes. He was tired.

Screams and worried cries suddenly woke him from his attempted slumber. He snapped his eyes open and watched as Lorelei and Karen rushed over to the two fallen trainers with terrified expressions on their faces.

"Lance!" They cried as they rushed over to the unconscious Champion. Karen went straight for the Champion, but Lorelei paused and looked over Ash.

"Are you all right?" She asked quietly, resting a cold hand against his cheek. When she pulled it away there was blood. That was funny, Ash hadn't even noticed he was bleeding.

"I'm fine." He muttered, thoughts still racing through his mind. Why did Giovanni spare him, assuming that was who the Creature's "partner" was.

The man seemed to like him well enough – he mentally shuddered at the thought, even more so when he remembered that Giovanni had mentioned offering him a job in a few years – but that shouldn't have kept him from taking the opportunity to kill the Champion and most of the Elite Four. Team Rocket didn't exactly have a problem killing children should it be necessary.

It was a mystery, and he didn't like it. He blearily cut back to Lorelei, who was staring at him worriedly and whispering to him, probably try to keep him awake.

"—medics should arrive soon." She said soothingly. Her pale face, which was mostly untouched from the battle aside from her glasses being somewhat askew, was as calm as could be. "You did a very brave thing, you know. I've known that you were brave in taking on the Rockets, but you did more than anyone could have expected. You saved the Champion's life."

He nodded tiredly, comprehending what she was saying perfectly well but too exhausted from the sudden loss of adrenalin to particularly care. He'd done what any real trainer would have done.

"Lorelei, I need to say something to the kid." A haughty voice entered his ears. Ash sighed when he recognized it as Karen's. Lorelei frowned but stood up and walked over to check on Lance's crumpled form.

Karen squatted down next to him. She looked at him for a while with inscrutable silver eyes.

"…Thank you." She said quietly, meeting his eyes. He could see the fear in them. Ash started. Karen didn't seem like the kind of person who would willingly show any genuine emotion. "I could see what you did. Lance owes his life to you, and everyone in Kanto ought to thank you for that. That would have been a terrible blow to all of us."

She suddenly dipped down and kissed him on the cheek. Ash's eyes snapped open in surprise and he froze, staring at the Elite Four trainee in shock. Karen stood up and laughed, all solemnness gone.

"There's your reward from me, kid." She smirked. "Try not to get a big head about it."

He stared at the teen as she walked over to Lance and crouched beside his body. That was unexpected.

Ash shrugged and did his best to ignore the spot on his face that tingled slightly – a sharp contrast to the rest of his face, which was pounding with heat. He closed his eyes and waited for the medics to arrive.

He wouldn't be forgetting that anytime soon.

XX

"You're all free to go, Mr. Ketchum." The female doctor said. She didn't seem too happy about giving him admission to leave. Although they'd corrected all of his injuries in the first three hours he stayed – he had two broken ribs which had been set and injected with a modified potion, the large gash on the side of his face had been cleaned and stitched up before another potion had been injected, and the bruising on his chest was mostly gone – he still wasn't completely healed.

But he wasn't about to let that hold him back. He wasn't in danger of hurting himself any worse now, he just had to make sure to take it easy as he travelled. "Thank you."

He rose from the bed and stretched, grimacing at the slight waves of pain that shot through his body. Ash shook it off. What he was feeling was nothing compared to some of the League forces that had been involved in the battle.

Speaking of League forces, he noticed two bulky ACE trainers standing in the doorway with grim expressions. They were silent as the doctor spoke again.

"Don't push yourself too hard. You're largely healed externally, but your body needs rest. Potions accelerate healing, but they take up a lot of energy for humans." She warned. Her aged face broke into a scowl. "Personally, I think you should stay for another day just to make sure. But the League has requested that you be released as soon as it is safe to do so. Your medical records and any proof of your existence have been sealed as well. The gentleman over there can tell you more."

The shorter of the two stepped forward and cleared his throat. Unlike the ACE trainers Ash had seen, his uniform was solid black, but a silver Ranger insignia was stitched onto it. "Mr. Ketchum, before you leave, we have your pokemon. We took the liberty of retrieving them from the Pokemon Center. It's chaos there right now."

"Thank you." He said gratefully as he walked over and took the bag of pokeballs from the Ranger's hand. Ash quickly clipped them onto his belt, glad that he had all of his friends back.

"Champion Lance has also requested your presence before you depart." The man said in a professional tone. "We will lead you to him now. Follow me, please."

Ash nodded and followed both agents as they strode through the bare white halls of the hospital. He gave the tired looking doctor a grateful nod before he left her. They travelled through the building quickly. It was deserted, which was odd. He'd expected that it would be busy considering how many League forces the Creature had hurt.

The two suddenly motioned to a door about a minute after walking through the winding halls. "Champion Lance is awaiting your presence."

He nodded and stepped in. It was similar to his own room, if a bit larger. Two more ACE trainers were inside, although they gave him a respectful nod before walking out and leaving Ash and Lance to their privacy.

The Champion looked very weak. He was covered in casts and bandages and an IV fed an unfamiliar fluid into his veins. Ash could barely equate this wounded man to the proud, strong Champion he knew. Lance had never been anything but exuberant and powerful in the short time he'd known him. This Lance was alien to him.

"Hello." Lance rasped. His chest rose and fell in shallow breaths, but he seemed to be in much better condition than he had when Ash last saw him. "Ash, I'm sorry. I should have kept you away from the battle. I knew that the psychic was powerful, but I was careless."

"No!" Ash replied sharply, barely believing he'd just said that. "It was for the best. We all know what Team Rocket can do now. And what if I hadn't been there? You'd have died!"

Lance frowned and sighed. "Team Rocket might as well have killed me. I'm alive, but they've sent a message. They have the power to defeat the Elite Four, and it's only a matter of time before they use it. We will fight as hard as we can and find some way to defeat the psychic, but they've spread fear. They've shown that even the Elite Four can be defeated."

Ash didn't have much of a reply to that. It was true. Team Rocket had showed their last card. They'd been losing their war in the shadows ever since Lance truly began his campaign against them. Now the tides had turned. But at least the Elite Four could still fight – even if they'd been defeated, they were still alive to keep on fighting.

"How's Saph and your other pokemon?" Ash asked quietly, hoping to turn the conversation to a different topic. Nothing productive could come out of the path it had been taking.

Lance closed his eyes briefly. There was visible pain and regret on his proud face. "They're fine. Most were unconscious and badly injured when they were recovered from the wreckage, but they survived and will be back to normal in a few days. Saph has a longer recovery."

"How is she?" Ash asked uneasily. He'd seen that Saph was paralyzed – not in the battling way in which the nervous system was stunned or muscles were locked up, but in the real way where the spine was severed – but he didn't know what else had happened to her.

"She'll be okay in about two weeks. What our doctors can do today is closer to miracles than medicine." Lance said, a trace of happiness mixed into his tone. It was clear that he'd been terrified for the dragonair. "They've healed the most extreme damage to her body, but injected some ditto cells into the spine. They should specialize and replace her spine and nerve cells in about a week. Then it's all about getting her used to her body again."

Lance sighed and leaned back onto his hospital bed. He glanced at the needle that was neatly slid into his hand. "I don't know where ditto came from, but I thank whatever caused them to pop up a few years back. If not, Saph might have never recovered."

Ash nodded in sympathy. For any pokemon to lose its mobility would be an awful thing. But for a pokemon with as much natural majesty and power as Saph it would be a true horror, a half-life. Battling pokemon enjoyed fighting. It was their life.

"But I didn't request your presence for that." Lance continued. Ash just silently waited for the Champion to speak. Every word seemed to take effort. "First, I wanted to thank you. You saved so many lives by standing up to the psychic. I don't know why it and its partner refused to kill you, but you thought quickly and acted bravely when I was too injured to do so."

"Any real trainer would have done the same thing." Ash echoed his thoughts from earlier.

Lance smiled and shook his head. "Perhaps. But there aren't many real trainers anymore, if there ever were." He sighed forlornly. "But I'm proud to say that you are part of that exclusive group. You've proved many times over that you are braver and more skilled than your years suggest."

Ash hid an embarrassed smile.

"I've placed several ACE trainers in Pallet Town." Lance murmured. "I don't know if Team Rocket knows your identity or if they grew enough of a conscience to recoil from slaying a child," both Lance and Ash's face showed their doubt of that sentiment, "but I believed it would be safest to do so."

"Thank you." Ash replied, clenching his fists at the thought that Team Rocket might target Pallet Town because of him. "If Team Rocket tried to do anything and I wasn't there…"

"Then the good Professor would likely intervene." Lance smirked, although he coughed a bit afterwards. "Professor Oak is no pushover, as I'm sure you know. But it never hurts to have a few extra fighters, especially when they are as powerful as ACE."

Ash nodded his agreement. Oak might be powerful – although he didn't know just how strong the older man was – but he couldn't protect the entire town at once. At the very least the ACE agents could hold attackers off while the Professor finished the rest.

"If you would like, I can assign a Ranger or ACE trainer to you for a while." Lance spoke up. Ash frowned. He knew the Champion was only trying to help him, but he was more than capable of protecting himself. The only thing the Rockets could throw at him that he couldn't beat was the Creature, and no amount of protectors would defeat it. "Just until some of the heat dies down. Your identity has been kept sealed, but I'm afraid the media will leak your image soon."

He shook his head. "I'll be fine. I'm leaving today anyways. The Rockets won't have time to trace me."

Lance frowned and a troubled expression took root on his angular face. "Very well. Be careful and keep a watch on your surroundings. I'll do everything in my power to keep you out of the spotlight, but the Rockets have their own resources. We still don't know if the psychic is capable of entering our minds. Sabrina and Will are still practically catatonic."

"Are they alright?" Ash snapped out worriedly. He'd known they were hurt, but he'd forgotten about the psychics in the following confusion and pain. "I saw them collapse."

"The League said they would be perfectly fine, given time." Lance replied soothingly, momentarily forgetting his own injuries. Ash could see that he had a cast on his right arm, his left leg, and several stitched gashes. They would be removed shortly. The casts were just there to set the bone as it healed from the potions. "They're stable, as are their pokemon."

"Who else was hurt?" Came the dreaded question. Ash hadn't seen the Creature's actions after he'd crashed, but he knew that it had done something. It had certainly disabled each of its foes. But he didn't know if it had actually finished the job.

Lance grimaced. "Eight ACE trainers are dead. Five more are severely wounded from the aftereffects of the destruction of their ghosts. Most of the dark-types have been hospitalized, but the ghosts have started to reform. Only a few psychics were actually killed, however. It was lower than we'd feared."

He felt sick. The Creature had added more victims to its long list. Had it been given a bit more time it probably would have killed everyone in the area. Whatever it was, it needed to be put down or stopped somehow.

Ash knew he wasn't to blame – he'd told the League what he could about the Creature, and they'd prepared extensively for it. But he still felt as though he could have informed them of just how dangerous it was. Mere words didn't communicate his message well enough.

"It's not your fault." Lance said. He had managed to pull himself up so that he could meet Ash's brown eyes on an even level. "We underestimated the psychic. The League has never combatted such a powerful entity before. Your information at least gave us an idea of its potential."

He collapsed down into his pillows with a pained grunt. His arm was shaking from the strain of pushing himself up. "It is better that we met a minor defeat now than a major defeat in the future. We know to escape should we ever meet the psychic again. You've saved more lives by revealing its existence."

The trainer nodded. He knew that. It made logical sense. But that irrational, gnawing guilt continued to tear at his stomach. Ash suspected that it would for a few more days, at least.

"Ash, I need to sleep soon." Lance said exhaustedly. "The doctors have increased my dosage."

Ash nodded understandingly and turned away, but Lance requested for him to stay a bit longer.

"Leave Viridian. Call your mother and tell her you're safe. If you need help for anything, call me." Lance said seriously. "Let everything die down and try to avoid the Rockets in the future." He gave Ash a small smile. "But don't hesitate to fight back, should you be forced to. You've proved many times now that you aren't a boy: you're a man, and a man doesn't falter."

A large grin stretched across Ash's face at the praise. For the Champion to say that…it was high praise. "Thank you. I hope that you and your partners get better soon." He said earnestly.

While it was important for Lance to get better, it was just as important for his pokemon to as well. The Champion was nothing without his family.

"No." Lance shook his head. "Thank you. I wish you good luck on your journey, Ash. Stay safe."

Ash nodded back before walking out. The two ACE agents walked in front of him. "We'll take you to the atrium, if you wish."

He stopped and considered before shaking his head. There was a promise he needed to keep. "Is there a trading machine here?" He asked.

The agent that seemed to be in charge nodded. "Indeed. I take it that's where you want to go?"

When Ash gave him a nod, the agent motioned for the trainer to follow him and the other ACE agent. Ash followed their brisk pace easily. He just ignored the slight pain in his side as he walked. It was nothing.

Eventually, after going down what felt like miles of halls and several flights of stairs, they arrived at a dark, empty room with several trading machines and video phones in it. It was small and discrete, clearly not meant for casual use.

"Here it is." The agent announced. "We'll take you to the atrium when you are done."

Ash dipped his hat – it had managed to avoid most of the damage, although he would need to change his ragged, torn clothes when he had a chance – to the agents before walking in. He sat down at the nearest monitor and pulled Bruiser's pokeball off of his belt.

He released Bruiser as he used one hand to quickly type in Professor Oak's number. The video phone began to ring, and he turned to his friend. Bruiser looked as good as new, if not a little weary.

Bruiser eyed his ragged appearance worriedly. He gave Ash a questioning grunt. The trainer sighed.

"There was a battle in Viridian." He explained, although he quickly moved to placate Bruiser when the machoke seemed to grow furious at the threat to Ash's safety. "Don't worry, I got off easy. We battled a psychic capable of taking on the Elite Four. It beat us, but like I said, I escaped without any bad injuries."

The fighting-type didn't seem too convinced, but any further conversation was cut off as the black screen flickered to life, revealing both the tired, anxious Professor Oak and his obviously terrified mother.

"Ash!" His mother exclaimed. She clapped her hands together and peered at him worriedly. "We heard about what happened at Viridian! It says you're calling from a hospital. Please tell me you're okay!"

"Everything's fine." He said as soothingly as he could. His mother still stared at him with frantic eyes, while Oak examined him with worried, exhausted eyes. "It's settled down. I'm leaving the city today."

Professor Oak cut in. He was stern but just as worried as his mother. "Ash, I was told about the raid. Were you a part of it? The reports are still slow, but my contacts have informed me that it was based off the observations of a young trainer."

Ash guiltily glanced away at his mother's suddenly furious gaze. She obviously wasn't too happy with him putting himself in danger, even indirectly. "Ash Ketchum! If you got yourself involved in another dangerous raid on who-knows-what project of Team Rocket, I will –"

"I told them that Giovanni had the thing that destroyed the St. Anne." Ash said quietly and tonelessly. Bruiser placed a calming hand on Ash's shoulder. The trainer glanced at his friend gratefully.

Both adults were silent. Oak's red-rimmed eyes flashed with pure fury tempered by an ingrained curiosity, while his mother froze in horror. She hugged her arms to her chest and began to tear up.

"What." Professor Oak said furiously. His fists were clenched and his knuckles were white. Ash's mother didn't seem capable of speaking yet. "Giovanni is part of Team Rocket? He's been hiding the psychic this entire time? How did you know?!"

"When I was entering the gym, I felt energy." Ash began hesitantly. He emphasized his words with unconscious hand motions. "It was psychic, but so far beyond anything I'd ever encountered that I knew it had to be the thing that blew up the St. Anne. I saw it as I was leaving, and I recognized it instantly. I called Lance and he managed to verify what I'd seen somehow."

His mother burst in. "You mean the Champion roped you into the raid!" She hissed coldly. Ash understood at that moment just why so many people in Pallet had done their best to be kind and polite to him and his mother. While his mother was usually happy and exuberant, her fury was a thing to behold. "I've had enough of the League enlisting an eleven year old! This is ending right –"

"I didn't participate in the raid." Ash cut in, hoping to halt his mother's wrath in its tracks. He didn't like seeing her like that. Both adults stared at him confusedly. "I watched, and I only got involved because Lance was about to die!"

"You could have died!" His mother shot back. Professor Oak was opting to stay out of the conversation for now. "How could you have helped against something that the Champion himself couldn't handle?"

Ash shifted uncomfortably. "I couldn't. The psychic was too strong for me to fight." He admitted without hesitation. "But I couldn't just let him die. He's more important than I am. Kanto needs him! He's the only person that even posed a challenge to the Creature."

"But I need you." His mother whispered, raising a hand to the screen. Ash smiled regretfully and placed one of his scraped hands up to match hers. "Lance might be more important to Kanto, but you're much more important to me."

Both sides were silent. Professor Oak watched quietly as mother and son stared at each other. He let the effect sink in for a few more seconds before he stepped in.

"A single creature managed to defeat the Elite Four?" He asked disbelievingly, horror written on his face. "And a psychic, at that? Was Agatha present?"

Ash nodded. "So were about twenty other trainers with ghost and dark-types. The psychic just wiped them out without even trying."

Oak sighed and rubbed his temples. "This is worrying. Agatha's ghosts are powerful beyond belief. A single psychic should not have been able to combat them, even if its power was focused through some kind of technology." He raised his head and stared at Ash with his piercing, intelligent gaze. "If it so effortlessly defeated the Elite Four, why did it not kill everyone present?"

He ignored his mother's intake of breath at the mention of his death. "I'm not sure." Ash replied. "It was going to, but then it saw me behind Lance. The psychic told him to step aside so that I could live, but I stood in front of Lance and kept it from attacking. It said that its partner was acting irrationally – that he, or Giovanni, I'm assuming, wouldn't let me be hurt."

Relief and – was that hope? – shimmered in his mother's eyes before she cradled her head in her hands, whispering something that he couldn't hear. She stayed like that, so thankful that he was spared that she didn't even rebuke him for placing himself in harm's way.

"Odd." Oak murmured to himself, although relief at Ash's luck was evident in his eyes. He glanced up and saw Bruiser, who still had a strong hand keeping Ash steady. "Thank you for telling me that. I doubt I'll get the full report for several more hours. But did you need to exchange pokemon?"

"I did." Ash said with a smile. He was glad to change the topic. The battle wasn't something he wanted to speak of anymore. "Do you have Plume's pokeball?"

Oak nodded and raised it. Ash smiled at Bruiser before he returned his friend and placed his pokeball into the trade machine. Moments later it was exchanged with Plume's.

"I should probably get going. There are people waiting on me" Ash said guiltily, glancing at his mother. She had raised her head, but he could see that she was an emotional wreck. "Bye, mom. I love you."

She gave him a bright smile. "Stay safe, sweetie. I love you to."

Ash smiled sadly at his mother before Professor Oak spoke up. "Good luck on your journey, Ash. I hope the trip to Pewter is less eventful than it has been in Viridian."

"I do too." Ash laughed. It was nice after so long of being serious. "Thanks, Professor. Bye."

Before he could cut the connection, Oak raised his hand in order to get Ash to stop. Ash gazed at the older man curiously. He couldn't think of what else the Professor could ask about.

"Do you know where Gary is, by any chance?" Oak asked hopefully. "He called and told me he was challenging Giovanni, but hasn't contacted me since."

"I'm afraid not." Ash said with a sigh. He didn't like the dejected expression on the Professor's face. "I saw him heading out of the gym, but after that I lost contact."

"Very well. Thank you for telling me." Professor Oak told him. Ash nodded and smiled at his mother one last time before he cut off the screen and stood up from his chair.

He slid it in before heading outside to meet the ACE agents. There were still a few hours left in the day. Ash wanted to use them as best he could and get away from Viridian. He was tired of this city.

XX

The first steps into the looming trees and thick foliage of Viridian Forest were nostalgic. Ash had a small smile as he exited the suburbs of Viridian, which were still in a state of confusion from the battle with the Creature.

Ash had already told his friends what had happened. He'd managed to assuage their worries and keep them from becoming too bitter over not being there to protect them, but Nidoking had demanded to walk with Ash during the journey.

He'd happily accepted his friend's offer. Ash hadn't gotten to spend as much time with Nidoking as he would have liked, and now it felt like old times again. Plume flew high above them, a powerful presence that deterred any of the indigenous pokemon from attacking.

For just a moment he could see a small, determined Nidoran and a pidgey flitting from one branch to the other just a few feet above him. Then reality came back and banished the glimpse of memory. Ash smiled fondly as he walked down the beaten dirt path. The plants of the forest encroached upon the edges thanks to the invigorating heat of summer, but they had not yet caused the path to be overgrown.

A lone caterpie was crawling on the road ahead of them. The tiny creature looked up and started in fright as it saw Nidoking and did its best to crawl out of the way.

Ash and Nidoking stopped as the caterpie slowly inched away from them. He smiled softly at the creature. It wasn't much yet, but soon it would be a bright, beautiful butterfree dancing through the woods. He wondered if his journey would have changed much if he'd caught any of the dozens of caterpie or weedle he'd encountered during the time he spent within the great forest. They weren't particularly strong, even as their final evolutions, but butterfree and beedrill could still be quite effective in the right hands.

He blinked and realized that the caterpie was gone and had taken his idle thoughts along with it. Nidoking grunted questioningly at him and Ash shook his head.

"Sorry about that, buddy." He frowned. Ash started stepping forward. The pain that accompanied every step was shrinking quickly. His doctor definitely knew what they were doing when they fixed him up. At least they had more resources than the tiny hospital/Pokemon Center in the Sevii Islands. "I just blanked out."

Nidoking growled and tapped him comfortingly on the shoulder with one of his dull claws. Ash sent a thankful smile back at his friend. The poison-type would probably be worried about him for a few more days before their journey ended up at the forefront of their minds. All of his friends were upset that they hadn't been able to help.

"Let's get going. It's going to be a long journey."

With that, both friends stepped forward and began their travels again. They might know the way through, but Viridian Forest was a natural maze. Ash expected the journey to take a little bit less than two weeks. Just because he was more experienced and had an idea of where to go didn't mean that he could cut an entire week off of the travel time.

XX

Ash shot up as he was jostled awake. It was the third night of their journey through Viridian Forest. So far it had been quite boring. Nidoking's presence scared most of the other trainers off. Even the stronger bug catchers didn't want to tangle with the intimidating creature.

It felt like he'd only been asleep for an hour. The forest was completely dark since he'd put the fire out before heading to bed so he couldn't tell the exact time, but his mind still felt weary and frayed. At least it wouldn't be dark. He'd had Infernus create himself a small pit of lava to sleep in. Tangrowth had used ancient power to raise rocky walls around the pit and Torrent had carved out a small trench filled with water to keep any potential fires down. If they failed Dazed would simply snuff the flames out.

"What is it?" He asked as he stood up from his sleeping bag. Ash easily recognized Nidoking's touch once he'd regained awareness.

Nidoking grunted excitedly and pointed to Infernus. He was barely visible in the dim light cast off by the fire-type's tail flame, but Ash was able to make that out at least. Ash glanced over to Infernus who seemed to be standing up and watching something interestedly. The other members of the team were huddled around as well, their features barely illuminated by Infernus' bright fire.

His eyes widened. It couldn't be. He hadn't expected this to happen for at least another week.

"Thanks for waking me." He grinned. Nidoking grunted and bared his fangs in a friendly manner before lumbering over to the others. Ash was right behind him.

Ash's friends made a space for him as he approached. He slipped in right between Dazed and Torrent, who had been guarding the camp for the night.

"Could you light the fire? I can't see very well." He directed at Infernus. It seemed that Tangrowth had covered up the magma pool with a sheet of rock – or else Torrent had hardened it with a few blasts of water. The fire-type acquiesced. Moments later a large flame danced in the air, providing heat and, more importantly, light. "Thank you."

He crouched down by the black egg. It was shaking erratically. A few small cracks had begun to thread throughout the ebony shell as it shook more and more. Ash had an uncontrolled grin on his face as he watched the egg tremble.

Ash's mind had completely forgotten that it was deprived of sleep. Now it was solely focused on the excitement of the situation. He had wanted to know what was in the egg for a long time now, and he was finally getting to see it hatch. The trainer could barely believe this was happening. For so long it had felt as though the egg would remain that: an egg.

He'd gotten a few shakes from it every now and then, but nothing like this. It had begun to roll around as the young pokemon entombed in it finally gained the strength to break out.

A single arm suddenly shot out of the egg, sending a tiny piece of the hard shell scattering off into the night. Ash noted that Tangrowth shot a vine out and snatched it out of the air before it could become lost.

Ash glanced curiously as the sleek black arm, wet and sticky from the amniotic fluid in the egg, tipped by a surprisingly large and slightly curved claw, wriggled around and tasted fresh air for the first time. Another tore out and waved around as well. The tiny pokemon didn't seem to know what to do.

Finally, the pokemon that Ash still couldn't make out managed to tear the egg apart, sending the two large halves flying a few feet through the air. He grinned wildly and pulled his pokedex out as he saw the creature that had been unveiled. A bit of clear, odorless fluid leaked out onto the ground.

The tiny creature peered up at him with curious ruby eyes. It stared at him intently with an awestruck expression. He grinned as it wobbled over to him so that it could get a better look at the human. Ash lowered himself a bit more, although he was careful enough to be ready to dodge at any moment should the small, wide-eyed creature try anything. The trainer knew that its kind were prone to mischief and sometimes vicious behavior.

It was a vaguely feline pokemon with slick, thick black-blue fur – although part of the slickness might be from the amniotic fluid inside the egg – but had a few bright red, feather-like growths on its ear and lower back. The creature idly retracted its large claws, which made Ash feel a bit less wary. There were distinctive yellow markings on its forehead and chest.

Ash smiled. "Hey, little guy. Are you feeling okay?"

The black pokemon cocked its head and peered at him. Ash knew it could understand him – all pokemon could understand human languages, even while in the egg – but it didn't react helpfully. Instead the small creature sat down and stared at him with a reverent expression.

"I'm just going to scan you. Is that alright?" He murmured softly. The pokemon narrowed its eyes slightly before nodding. It stared at him and growled in a friendly manner.

He held the pokedex out and scanned his new friend.

"_Sneasel, the Sharp Claw Pokemon_." It droned. "_Sneasel can extend or retract its claws instantly during attack. It is extremely vicious and will not stop attacking until its foe is incapable of moving. _

_This Sneasel knows the moves: Quick Attack, Faint Attack, Icy Wind, Fury Swipes, and Ice Punch. Its ability is Inner Focus, which enables it to withstand attacks better."_

It would certainly fight well, although he wouldn't start training it seriously for another month at least. Pokemon were ready for combat the moment they exited the egg, but they needed time to build up their muscles and grow enough to be really effective.

"You're going to be a tough little guy, aren't you?" Ash mused after he checked the pokedex to confirm that Sneasel was male. Sneasel nodded happily, still intently staring at Ash's face. It would retract and unsheathe its claws every now and then, apparently fascinated by the process.

Ash stood up. Sneasel jumped at the sudden change and looked at Ash's new height with wide eyes. It didn't appear very fearful, but it was surprised.

"Let's make some introductions." Ash began. He motioned to his friends, who were still gathered around them and staring at Sneasel with sharp eyes. Sneasel stood up and glanced at each one as Ash pointed them out. "That's Nidoking."

Nidoking grunted as unthreateningly as he could manage and met Sneasel's eyes. The baby pokemon didn't seem intimidated, which was good. He seemed more impressed than anything else.

"That's Plume." He said next. Plume cooed sweetly at the tiny dark-type. Sneasel yowled back. Ash was glad that they seemed to like each other well enough. He had been slightly nervous that Plume wouldn't like Sneasel thanks to his species. Sneasel were nest thieves, and the pidgey line were their favorite targets. It wouldn't have been surprising if Plume had an instinctual dislike of the tiny creature.

"Torrent." The trainer continued. Sneasel cocked his head curiously at the large, dignified dragon-type. He hissed curiously, and leapt back as Torrent let loose a low rumble that caused the earth to tremble. The dark-type grinned and bared his tiny, sharp fangs. Torrent just stared down at him with gauging eyes.

Sneasel's ruby eyes were locked with Torrent's scarlet eyes for several seconds. Eventually Torrent seemed to come to a conclusion and snorted. The dragon nodded and dipped his large head to Sneasel, who hissed back.

Ash smiled before pointing at the next member of the team. "Dazed."

The dark-type's eyes glittered maliciously when it recognized the psychic. Dazed stared back expressionlessly, the only emotion in her eyes a faint trace of dislike. Ash suspected that there would be problems with those two. Sneasel's more vicious tendencies would probably become especially pronounced around Dazed since she wasn't able to retaliate effectively.

He moved on quickly. That issue could be sorted out tomorrow. "Infernus."

Infernus growled and glared down at the tiny ice-type as he caused a thin veil of flames to burn around his body. He didn't seem too impressed. Sneasel hissed back and raised its claws, although he relented after a few moments and scampered behind Ash's legs. The dark-type peered out and growled threateningly at Infernus, although he quickly pulled his head back when Infernus snorted a bit of smoke and fire.

Ash hid a smile. At least Sneasel would have one member of the team willing to be harsh and discipline him. Nidoking and Torrent would be quick to step in if the dark-type stepped out of line, but Infernus would be the one that Sneasel would be careful around. It would be good to have Sneasel afraid of Infernus, as bad as it might sound. Sneasel would need someone to temper his more malicious tendencies, and there was no one better for the job than Infernus.

"And that's Tangrowth." Ash grinned. Sneasel scampered out from behind his legs and stared at Tangrowth, who gurgled happily and wrapped the small creature up in a hug with several of his vines. The dark-type squirmed and growled cutely in an attempt to fight Tangrowth's greeting off, but Tangrowth didn't notice. It was several more seconds before Sneasel escaped.

"These are your teammates." Ash said as he kneeled again and met Sneasel's eyes. The dark-type seemed locked on to Ash's every word. "They'll be your teachers and friends. They are your pack."

That word seemed to resonate with Sneasel, and he nodded his small head understandingly. He retracted his claws and examined each of them with short little glances.

"We're going to make you as strong as you can be. We'll be your family." Ash promised. Sneasel's eyes glittered brightly at that. The statement seemed appealing to him. "All that I want from you is that you follow my instructions and do your best to avoid trouble. Is that alright?"

Sneasel nodded and exposed his small fangs in a grin. Ash smiled back, but blinked in surprise when Sneasel scampered behind him and leapt up on his back, displaying quite a bit of agility. He was a bit uneasy for a moment, but quickly realized that Sneasel was just trying to be friendly.

"I've got to call Professor Oak and tell him about our new friend." Ash told Nidoking seriously. His friend nodded. He glanced up at Sneasel and saw that the tiny dark-type was peering around his shoulders at him. Sneasel reminded him a bit of Seeker in that respect. His tone was soft as he spoke to the baby pokemon. "Sneasel, could you go with Nidoking for a while? He'll tell you more."

The dark-type growled before glancing at the large form of Nidoking. He almost looked like he was going to jump onto Nidoking's back, but the large spikes seemed to dissuade him from that idea. Instead, the dark-type leapt onto the ground and followed Nidoking as the poison-type lumbered away. The rest of the team followed.

Ash watched his friends go for a moment with a soft smile before unclipping his PokeNav and dialing Professor Oak's number. He patiently waited as it began to ring. The Professor would probably take a long time to answer. It was rather late, after all.

While he probably could have waited until morning, Ash didn't want to take any chances of something happening to Sneasel. His friends would be able to track the dark-type easily and protect him from any threat, but there were a lot of pokemon and trainers in this forest. Ash didn't want Sneasel to be attacked or captured by a wandering trainer.

"Ash, why are you calling me at this hour?" The Professor spoke up as the screen flickered onto life. Ash smiled apologetically at the Professor. Oak's eyes were red from exhaustion and there were large bags under his eyes.

"You told me to call you whenever my egg hatched." Ash said with a grin. Try as he might, he just couldn't hold back his excitement. He was rather happy with his newest friend. While he would have been happy if a rattata hatched from it, Sneasel was just perfect. "It's a Sneasel!"

"I didn't mean that literally." Oak muttered. Still, he seemed more attentive now. "I'll authorize you for an additional pokemon. You will only be allowed to have an extra member on your team for two months, after which your seventh registered pokemon will automatically be sent here. Just give me a moment."

Ash nodded his thanks as Oak got to work, typing at an incredibly fast speed. In a matter of seconds the Professor was done.

"Thanks, Professor." Ash grinned a bit guiltily. "Sorry for waking you up. Good night."

"It's fine." Oak sighed. "I really am happy for you. I always wanted an egg to raise when I was a trainer. I'm sure that you'll raise Sneasel well." The Professor yawned before focusing his bleary eyes on Ash. "Good night. I'll be more excited in the morning, I promise you."

The trainer grinned again before the call was cut off. He clipped it back onto his belt and waited for his friends to return. It would probably only be another minute or so. Nidoking knew that it would be a brief conversation.

He sat down next to the dim campfire. Ash had a slight smile on his face. He'd faced horrible things these past few days, but everything was getting better. Now the death and destruction unleashed by the Creature was tempered with new life and new experiences. It would distract him from the grave events unfolding in Kanto, at least.

Ash picked up a small twig and drew a few patterns in the dirt. It was relaxing in a way and let him think. He wasn't sure how Sneasel would fit into the team. For now he was the baby. Sneasel would probably be pampered like no other teammate had been – mostly by Plume and Tangrowth, if Ash's expectations held up.

But in the future, Ash wasn't sure what twists and turns Sneasel's personality and role would take. He was going to have to start planning for problems. Sneasel were tightly bound to their packs, but there was a great deal of internal competition ingrained in their personality. Hopefully he could curb the most vicious tendencies of the dark-type, but if not he'd have to pay close attention to Sneasel.

At least he had Nidoking, Torrent, and Infernus. They'd keep their newest addition out of trouble and show him the discipline he needed when Ash wasn't there. He couldn't see Sneasel misbehaving too much around him, at least. Ash was the first thing that Sneasel had seen. Sneasel had imprinted on him. Now Ash was the closest thing the dark-type had to a parent.

He resolved to set a good example. Trainers influenced their pokemon and vice versa, but the role he would play in a newborn's life was especially relevant. Ash would need to strive to be the best he could be and instill the best traits into Sneasel.

Ash was distracted as he noticed his friends coming back. Nidoking seemed to have realized that it was time and led the group back into the clearing. Sneasel rode on Torrent's smooth back, grinning at everything he saw. Torrent looked slightly annoyed, but sharp glances from Plume kept him from shaking the little dark-type off.

"Did you fill him in?" Ash asked. Nidoking grunted. He smiled. "Thanks. Sneasel, could you come down?"

Sneasel agilely leapt off of Torrent's back and landed lightly on his feet. He looked rather pleased with himself for the feat, and Ash smiled at the dark-type.

He pulled a pokeball out of his pack and showed it to Sneasel. The newborn poked the metallic device with one of his sharp claws before he sniffed it. Ash smiled. "This is a pokeball. It lets me bring a lot of my friends with me. You need to let me put you in it if you want to come with me. Is that alright?"

The dark-type nodded without thinking. Ash smiled and lightly pressed the pokeball to Sneasel's chest. It sucked him into the pokeball in a burst of red light that illuminated the entire forest. For the first few seconds the ball shook wildly. But when Sneasel realized what was happening, the pokeball stopped shaking and clicked.

Ash picked up the pokeball and clipped it onto one of the additional spaces on his belt. He'd release Sneasel in just a few moments. But he needed to talk to his friends first.

"I know I don't have to tell you this, but we need to be good examples for Sneasel." He began. Each of his friends showed their understanding in their own way, even Infernus. "Be nice, but don't coddle him too much. He needs a firm hand if we want to make him a good member of the team. Discipline him to the best of your abilities if you find him doing something wrong and explain to him why he shouldn't do it."

His friends nodded again. Infernus seemed disinterested at this point. The others understood well enough, however, and that was all Ash asked for.

"Dazed, wake us up if Sneasel does anything." Ash told the psychic. Dazed nodded and shuffled off next to his sleeping mat. She didn't like being unable to watch over him closely. "To the rest of you, get some sleep. I want to get out of this forest as soon as possible."

They had similar opinions. Nidoking lumbered over to his sleeping mat as well before he curled up in a massive ball. His plates were facing outward and providing him an incredible amount of protection as he slept. Plume cooed softly to Ash before fluttering up to a branch strong enough to support her weight. Ash closed his eyes to protect against the powerful winds and dust kicked up by her movement.

Infernus nodded at Ash before slinking over to the lava pit. He casually punched through the thin barrier of rock keeping the heat in before slipping in. It flared up in response to his powerful presence before returning to its previous state. The magmar seemed rather comfortable in the bath of liquid stone.

"Torrent, could you stay here for a moment?" Ash requested as his friend began to levitate away. Torrent nodded and stayed as Ash released Sneasel. The dark-type darted his head around curiously. It seemed that leaving the pokeball was an interesting experience for him. "Sneasel needs a bath."

Ash glanced at Sneasel, who was still a bit wet from leaving his egg. "Sneasel, Torrent's going to clean you off. Just hold still. It'll be over quickly."

Sneasel growled his understanding and nervously stood still. Torrent gently sprayed the young pokemon with water. It easily washed the amniotic fluid off. The liquid was essentially salt water, so it didn't resist the stream in the least.

When it was over, Sneasel shook himself off like a growlithe and sent water droplets everywhere. Ash grinned. "Thanks, Torrent. Sneasel, come with me. It's time to go to bed."

Sneasel didn't follow his instructions. Instead of following Ash, he leapt onto Ash's back and deftly climbed up the back of the trainer's shirt. He was quite skilled, even without using his hooked claws. Ash didn't really mind and just smiled back at the baby.

He walked over to his mat, although he took a moment to say a goodnight to Infernus. The fire-type grunted and snorted a bit of fire to return the sentiment. Ash took care to walk around Nidoking as he walked to his mat. It wouldn't be good to trip around his friend.

The dark-type nimbly leapt off of his back when Ash began to lay down. When Ash had gotten comfortable, he glanced up and saw that Sneasel was looking at him hesitantly. He grinned and pulled up his light blanket. "Come on in, buddy."

Sneasel happily slid underneath the thin sheet of cloth and snuggled into Ash's chest. Ash could barely believe the species was known for having an attitude problem. So far Sneasel was as nice as could be, although he suspected that would change when the dark-type wasn't exhausted.

He fell asleep quickly. Ash was still a little tired from being woken up, so it was nice to return to his slumber. Returning to bed after waking up was definitely one of the best feelings in the world.

XX

_Ash felt a lance of fear pierce his mind as he slid toward the roaring waves of the cold ocean. A ship sliced into two was dragged into the depths of the cold waters underneath him, yanking him and countless other helpless souls into the icy darkness as well. _

_He did not feel an iron need to survive and fight. Ash felt the fear he had when he was a newbie trainer alone in the wilderness for the first time. _

_Talons picked him up and he felt a flare of hope. Perhaps he could survive this after all. _

_But it was not to be. Plume shrieked horribly as his shirt tore and he fell screaming into the icy waters. Memories lapped at him as he lost oxygen and the edges of his vision grew black, not mixing well with the ocean. It was bright with the last lights of the doomed ocean liner and suffused in a choir of damned voices screaming as the water poured into their lungs. _

_He looked around desperately for the bright flash of light that would herald his salvation. But Torrent did not come through this time. _

_Ash gagged and choked helplessly on the icy water as he lost control and breathed in deep the killing liquid. He thrashed and writhed and looked around again, and he felt a flash of hope as he saw something moving in the abyss. _

_But his oxygen-deprived mind screamed when two horribly familiar glowing eyes lit up the ocean with the light of the sun, revealing hundreds of floating bodies drifting around them, pale and lifeless in the _

"_**You cannot escape me**__." The Creature roared into his mind before yanking him down to the deepest trench of the ocean, laughing cruelly at Ash's dying screams. _

_He -_

Ash shot up from his sleeping mat. A cold sweat covered his body and he was panting. He couldn't help but stare at his hands, just barely visible thanks to the fire's calm light, to make sure he was really outside.

A gurgle caused him to look up and realize that each of his friends had circled around him. He noticed that Sneasel was looking at him with fearful eyes, upset at the change in Ash. The others were simply worried. Nidoking placed a comforting claw on Ash. It hurt a bit, but the message was what mattered.

"I'm fine." He said shakily. His breath rattled in his lungs. What was that? "You can go back to sleep. I'll be fine."

His friends didn't seem to believe him, but they followed his command. Ash realized that even Infernus had come over to investigate what was going on. The fire-type narrowed his eyes at Ash curiously before slinking over to the lava pit and curling up again.

Ash shuddered again. He couldn't remember what exactly what was in the dream, but he knew that it had terrified him for some reason. It had already flitted away from his mind even as he tried to grasp it and confront whatever had inspired his fear. Dreams were frustrating like that.

Wait.

He'd dreamed.

That hadn't happened in months, ever since he'd gotten Dazed. He knew that Dazed had been feeding on his dreams ever since the St. Anne. The only reason he'd bothered giving her permission to do so was because he wanted to keep her from feeling guilty. Dazed needed sustenance, and humans tended to have more nourishing dreams than pokemon.

Ash couldn't even remember the last time he'd dreamed. But now he just had, which was disturbing. Dazed was always in close proximity to him at night, both to guard him and to gain the nourishment that was unobtainable otherwise.

He glanced up at Dazed. Sneasel had already snuggled back against his warm chest and seemed to be asleep. Dazed stared back at him. Her eyes seemed guilty.

"I had a nightmare." He said quietly. Dazed nodded and glanced away, an oddly open display of emotion for her. She had known before he'd said anything. It was a hypno's gift to know what dream someone was having. "Would it have made you sick?"

Dazed gave a tiny dip of her head, but still seemed uncomfortable. Ash sighed and pulled himself up on his forearms so he could be more comfortable. He was careful to avoid disturbing Sneasel, however.

"I understand." Ash said with a tired smile. He wondered just how many disruptions to his sleep he would get tonight. First Sneasel hatching and now night terrors. "I don't want you to get sick on my part. You shouldn't have to suffer for my problems."

The psychic shook her head in disagreement and stepped closer to Ash. She idly polished her stone pendulum in her white mane as she nodded pointedly to Sneasel. Understanding glinted in Ash's eyes as he realized what she was trying to get across.

"He's blocking you, isn't he?" Ash murmured quietly, lightly stroking Sneasel's feathers. The dark-type growled unconsciously and nestled further into Ash's chest, completely unaware of the event he had inspired.

Dazed nodded. Ash sighed, staring down at Sneasel. The energy that ran through his every cell didn't end with his body. It extended just a little bit beyond that, a field of energy from a foreign, distorted universe that completely neutralized psychic powers in its proximity.

Normally that ability was a boon, but not right now. As long as Ash was this close to Sneasel, Dazed wouldn't be able to eat his dreams. That created two problems: Dazed couldn't derive sustenance from his dreams, and he would fall prey to whatever nightmares the psychic had protected him from.

The obvious solution would be to keep Sneasel away from him at night, but that wasn't an option at well. Sneasel needed to be close to him. He'd imprinted on Ash. Their bond could not be jeopardized at such an early stage in Sneasel's life. When Sneasel had grown a bit older he would be free to sleep wherever he wanted, but for now they would be sticking together.

Fortunately, Dazed didn't require human dreams. She could easily devour the dreams of his other friends – with their permission, of course – to get the energy she needed. Dazed simply preferred his dreams.

He would have to go through a few nights without a dreamless sleep, then. It shouldn't be too bad of a problem. Perhaps this was just a rare freak occurrence. He'd gotten over the St. Anne. The only things left were mere flickers.

Now that he had a half-decent plan for the coming weeks, Ash prepared to return to bed and get what sleep he could. But before he could, he realized something.

"Dazed, you've eaten my nightmares before, haven't you?" He asked pointedly. Ash didn't quite accuse her, but he was being direct. Memories of a few mornings where Dazed seemed strangely downtrodden instead of her ordinary placid calm stormed through his mind.

Dazed nodded and met his eyes. Ash stared at his friend, who had been acting as an unknown protector of his mind for months now.

"…Were they bad?" He asked weakly. Dazed didn't show any expression as she nodded. Her eyes seemed just a bit tired as she recalled them. Ash grimaced. He'd never meant to cause his friend pain, even unintentionally. "I'm sorry. You don't have to do that if it hurts you."

The psychic seemed to sigh – even without a mouth – and rolled her eyes. She shook her head to refute his argument. Dazed pointed at herself, then conjured a protective shield of dim psychic energy before pointing at Ash.

A small smile curled on the edges of his lips as he understood her point. She was a shield for him. Ash helped her and protected her in some ways and she was simply doing her best to help him as well.

"Thank you, Dazed." He smiled. Dazed nodded and sat down. She continued to polish her pendulum as he continued. "But if it ever makes you feel too bad, just stop. I can face it if I need to."

Dazed just stared back at him before she glanced down at her pendulum. It was as shiny and clean as stone could be. Ash shook his head with a grin before slipping back into the mat. Sneasel hissed in his sleep but didn't wake up. He glanced at Dazed for just a moment and saw a flash of guilt pass through her calm eyes before he settled down.

He shut his eyes and let unconsciousness claim him. It would be a hard day tomorrow.

XX

Ash rubbed his red eyes as he walked down the path. He'd managed to avoid another nightmare, but the two major disruptions to his sleep had ruined the entire night for him. The team would be turning in early tonight.

A young trainer with a caterpie crawling faithfully behind him began to approach him, probably for a battle, but picked up his caterpie and scurried away when he saw Torrent levitating behind Ash. In just a few seconds the bug catcher had disappeared into the thick brush.

Ash couldn't hold back his smile at that. Torrent gave a low rumble that Ash easily identified as a laugh. When he'd first travelled through Viridian Forest that would have been a fun battle. Now it was just pointless. He'd come a long way.

Sneasel hissed as he chased after the trainer before scurrying back. Ash had decided to let him stay out while they walked down the trail, provided he didn't stray too far. There weren't any particularly powerful pokemon living in Viridian Forest – at least not in this area, which was relatively safe for trainers to go through – so Sneasel wouldn't be in danger. Even if he did somehow find a way, Plume's keen eyes would send her barreling towards the dark-type instantaneously.

The dark-type quickly leapt up onto Ash's back and grabbed on for the ride. Ash grinned and scratched behind Sneasel's feather. It seemed to be a particularly sensitive spot and made Sneasel's small body twitch.

"Having fun yet?" He asked drily. Sneasel hissed excitedly into his ear, doubtlessly telling Ash about every caterpie, weedle, and other helpless pokemon he had chased after. Ash smiled and noted that Torrent's eyes had a glint of amusement coloring them as well. "That's nice. Make sure you don't run into their parents, alright?"

Sneasel growled softly and leapt onto the dirt trail in front of Ash. He extended his claws and hissed as menacingly as he could at Ash, waving the hooked implements around wildly. When Ash laughed, Sneasel hissed and pointed once at Torrent and then at the sky.

"That's probably a better plan." Ash commented as Sneasel regained his former position. "Make use of Torrent and Plume while they're still protecting you. Once you start training you'll be all on your own."

The dark-type hissed excitedly and leapt onto Torrent's back. Ash grinned as Torrent rumbled in annoyance. Sneasel wasn't deterred, however, and happily clung onto his thick plates of armor with his hooked claws.

As Ash kept on walking down the path, he again found it hard to believe that Sneasel could ever be vicious. It would be a startling transformation, to say the least. Still, he felt that he could at least curb some of Sneasel's more undesirable traits. Sneasel would be a good member of the team.

For now, however, Sneasel's antics put a smile on his face as he continued his expedition into the ominous forest. It helped to pass the time and would doubtlessly make the coming monotonous days of journeying through the forest much more amusing.

XX

Ash took a sip from his heavy water bottle as he watched the rather curious interaction between Infernus and Sneasel. Sneasel had been out of his egg for two days now and he had a good idea of how he would interact with the rest of the team for the observable future.

Nidoking seemed to be wary of Sneasel, although he wasn't hostile. The poison-type was rather friendly and helpful, just careful and observant at the same time. He was biologically hardwired to be a leader and care for the herd, so he was naturally suspicious of Sneasel. Aside from trying to flesh out the newcomer's personality and motives, Nidoking was also wary of him simply due to Sneasel being a dark-type. They tended to have loner personality traits that were alien to social creatures like the nidoran family.

Plume seemed enraptured with nurturing Sneasel. She tried to help him and show the newborn how to do important things. Ash thought he'd seen her trying to teach Sneasel how to fly once. That had gone poorly. But Sneasel seemed to like her well enough and neither were showing the enmity Ash had been afraid of.

Torrent was similar to Nidoking, albeit less wary. He seemed to get annoyed by Sneasel's antics rather easily, although the dragon was amused by them at the same time. Sneasel seemed to know this and took particular joy in annoying Torrent by sitting on his head, randomly jumping on him, or poking him continuously. Ash was curious to see just how far Torrent's exceptional patience would extend before the dragon's dangerous temper would reveal itself. Sneasel would have to learn limits from someone, after all.

Dazed was wary of Sneasel. He instinctually knew that she was practically helpless to retaliate against him and took full advantage of that, despite Ash's scolding and warning him numerous times. Sneasel would learn his lesson eventually. The dark-type just had to push the right button so that Dazed would snap and show off what she was really capable of. But for now they seemed at an impasse. Dazed had, at Ash's suggestion, stayed around one of the other teammates to keep Sneasel from pushing her further.

Infernus was actually getting along with Sneasel disturbingly well. The fire-type was quick to scare Sneasel off with a weak blast of flame if the ice-type annoyed him, but Infernus had more patience than Ash had expected. He didn't understand all of the complexities of that relationship, but he knew that Infernus would be a good example and role model for Sneasel. Sneasel seemed to look up to the fire-type.

Tangrowth was probably the closest to Sneasel, aside from Ash and Infernus. He seemed to enjoy babying the dark-type and liked playing games just as much as Sneasel did. Right now their favorite game seemed to be one in which Tangrowth would try to poke Sneasel with several vines. Sneasel's part was to sever as many as he could, although he was inevitably overwhelmed by Tangrowth's speed and tickled until the grass-type grew bored.

Right now, Sneasel was trying to stalk Infernus. The fire-type was curled up in the ashes of their campfire, apparently asleep. But Ash knew his friend well enough to see the slight twitches that revealed that Infernus was awake.

Ash leaned back into Nidoking's armored chest and watched with a grin. Dazed and his temporary, rather uncomfortable headrest were watching as well. Plume was off doing something or another, and Tangrowth was sleeping in the last patch of the sunset's fading light. Torrent looked like he was asleep. It was hard to tell, sometimes.

Sneasel was silent as he prowled around in the shadows cast by the hundreds of trees surrounding them. His tiny fangs were bared as he suddenly rushed forward and leapt at Infernus from behind. He had quite a bit of strength in him for such a young pokemon.

Unfortunately for Sneasel, Infernus was well aware of what he was trying to do. The fire-type's eyes glinted with dark amusement as he casually slammed his tail into Sneasel and sent the dark-type flying a few feet.

He snorted at that, as did Nidoking. Dazed's eyes shined brightly, but not with psychic power. Sneasel cocked its head confusedly and stared at Infernus with bemusement. Apparently he couldn't understand what had just happened.

While Sneasel had been rebuked several times if he pushed too far, this was the first time physical force had been used on him. It was rather gentle, meant more to amuse Infernus than punish Sneasel for his attempted sneak attack, but it was still a first for Sneasel.

Sneasel growled and rushed at Infernus again, only to stop and dive to the side when Infernus turned his head and lazily shot a tiny, weak stream of orange flames towards Sneasel. The ice-type recoiled at the hot temperature but determinedly prepared to attack Infernus again.

Ash's eyes were alit with humor. Maybe memories of this would pop up in his dreams tonight instead of the rather unpleasant ones he had been subjected to thus far.

He relaxed onto Nidoking's armor even further and kept on watching the game. Ash wondered how long it would take Sneasel to realize that he wasn't going to win. Sneasel had proved to be very determined so far, and would probably only stop his mad drive for victory when he had completely exhausted himself.

So long as the two kept this up for a little longer, Ash didn't really care. He could watch this all night. It was a better alternative to watching the dark forms of the trees and prowling pokemon in the forest, at least.

XX

Five days later he was finally about to break out of the great forest. He hadn't been getting as much sleep as he normally did thanks to the incredibly annoying and infuriating nightmares that struck every other night or so and _wouldn't go away_ and had eventually gotten so fed up with being tired, itchy, dirty, and extremely irritated that he'd cheated and had Plume show him the quickest way out.

It really was amazing how fast he could get through the forest when he had Infernus blasting a way through. So long as he had Torrent on hand to carefully extinguish the flames everything turned out perfectly. The lush vegetation he'd burned would regrow quickly enough.

As things turned out, however, he ran into that idiot in samurai gear again. He was in no mood for the other boy's crap, and released Infernus, who gladly took his side. Torrent levitated next to him as well. Sneasel was still perched on his shoulder, curiously leering at the boy in front of them.

"I remember you!" The boy cried. He released his Pinsir, who clicked its horns angrily at Ash and his friends. Ash just glared back. He wasn't in the mood for this. "You are one of the trainers from Pallet! I challenge you to a battle."

Ash scowled. "Infernus, you're up. Torrent, extinguish any fires. Sneasel, this is a battle." He grinned dangerously, which was matched by Sneasel and Infernus. Sneasel had started getting more mischievous, although not quite dangerous. "Well, this isn't a real battle. This is just what happens when trainers of vastly different skill levels battle."

Sneasel growled in amusement and peered closer. Infernus stepped forward with darkly amused eyes. He snorted a bit of flame.

He sighed when the idiot in front of him still thought it was a good idea to battle. "C'mon, Pinsir! Guillotine!"

Ash was actually surprised that the Pinsir was skilled enough to know the move. Maybe the idiot wasn't as bad as he thought. Nevertheless, he wasn't about to let the dangerous move so much as scratch Infernus.

"Flamethrower." He scowled. Infernus happily followed his command and bathed the bug in a blue stream of flame. It was hot enough to do serious damage to Pinsir but no so dangerous or strenuous as Infernus' ordinary white flame.

Pinsir instantly collapsed. Its trainer cried out in concern and instantly recalled the hurt bug-type. He turned to Ash furiously. "What are you doing? You could have hurt Pinsir! He's weak to fire."

"It's just unconscious." Ash growled as the boy ran up to him. Infernus slinked over to his side and menacingly glared down at the boy. "I'm just giving you a taste of your own medicine. If it can't take a bit of fire, you should try training it."

The boy growled back but just walked away furiously. Apparently he wasn't used to losing. Ash didn't know what else the boy had expected. He'd just stayed here for months while Ash had been training and adventuring. He couldn't find it in him to feel any amount of pity for the other trainer.

Whoever the boy was, he was a Camper – the kind most trainers despised. A Camper was someone who simply stayed in one area and challenged travelers and passerby. Most of the time it was a perfectly legitimate way of training, especially if the trainer wasn't up for travelling.

But this kid seemed to be one of the ones that just did it for the money. He was staying at the very edge of Viridian Forest on the main path that most trainers took. Quite a few newbie trainers stayed in western Kanto since the pokemon there were less dangerous, and Viridian Forest was practically a requirement unless you could fly or teleport across.

In other words, the kid preyed upon young trainers. He probably lost a few times when the trainers were coming from Pewter and weren't tired and worn down – if he challenged the fresh trainers at all – but the ones that were exhausted and weak from fighting through Viridian Forest were probably simple for him to defeat. Most young trainers didn't have the skills of Ash, or even Jonathan and Amelia.

Ash wouldn't mind if the kid was trying to get better, but he seemed to just aim for money. It was annoying, really. He just glared at the kid as he ran away, too annoyed to want his money.

He shook his head and wiped the scowl off of his face. Ash knew he was probably overreacting. His interrupted sleep hadn't altered his mental state too much, but it, combined with the time spent in Viridian Forest and the stress the battle at Viridian had placed on him, had made him surly and a bit more temperamental than usual.

The trainer returned Infernus, although he left Torrent out. His friend had just finished extinguishing any of the flames left over from the rather pathetic battle, but Ash wanted to keep him out to keep any other trainers on the path from battling him.

For now he just wanted to travel the next half mile or so to Pewter, get a hot shower and some food that wasn't bland and flavorless, and battle Brock. Then he would be perfectly happy and content. For a night, anyway. He would be picking up on his journey as soon as he could.

So he started walking down the path yet again. Hopefully he wouldn't have any further disruptions. All Ash wanted now was to get out of the forest.

XX

Ash had a grin on his face when he stepped out of the bathroom. He'd just taken his shower and brushed his teeth and he finally felt clean. It wasn't as though he neglected his hygiene when he was out on the road, but it was difficult to get properly clean when he depended on getting sprayed down by Torrent or taking a dip in a river. A shower was a vast improvement.

He had switched out Plume for Bruiser already. Plume was fine with it since he would be bringing her back as soon as he could. She was just too valuable on the road to leave behind, even if she wasn't one of his best friends.

Bruiser hadn't gotten to show off his new skill when he was battling Giovanni. He'd gotten taken out by a lucky shot. Now that he had had some time to rest and recover from the injuries incurred from Golem he was ready to battle.

If Bruiser somehow lost, he'd let Torrent take the field. It had been a while since his friend had gotten to be in a more casual battle. Torrent was just too strong to use on an unprepared trainer, so he was normally forced to use him in important battles. But Brock was a gym leader. He would be ready to face Torrent, especially if he'd toughened up as much as Ash had.

"Sneasel, let's go." He called out. Sneasel quickly leapt off of his perch on Tangrowth's head and dashed over to Ash. Tangrowth gurgled and tapped Ash on the forehead before he was recalled. The others were already in their pokeballs. Ash had just wanted Tangrowth to keep Sneasel company.

Pewter City's Pokemon Center was quite small, so he was out in just a minute or so. More trainers were beginning to filter into the lobby, so he was glad he'd arrived when he did. It looked like the Center would be filled up pretty soon.

He grinned when he felt the midday sun strike his face. Viridian Forest's thick canopy had kept him from actually feeling the sun most of the time, and it was a rather pleasant feeling. There wasn't a tree in sight in the City of Stone, so he was perfectly content.

Ash was guided by memory as he made his way through the perfectly aligned streets of Pewter. He liked Pewter. It wasn't too huge, but still large enough to be impressive. He hadn't properly appreciated the age and craftsmanship that went into the city and its buildings the first time he had come here.

The people were nice as well. They reminded him more of people from small towns and cities like Pallet and Viridian than those of massive cities like Saffron and Celadon. There wasn't anything wrong with the city dwellers, but he had been raised in a tiny town. He was able to understand people from Viridian and Pewter better than the inhabitants of Saffron.

He found himself standing before the large gym in just a few moments. It was just like he remembered it: sturdy and plain. There wasn't much beauty in it like Sabrina's gym or creativity like Blaine's, but it fit the gym's philosophy and ideals perfectly. Strength and stability were more important than looking fancy. Practicality over aesthetics.

Ash had a nostalgic grin on his face as he stepped forward and pushed the heavy wooden doors open. At least he didn't have to rely on gym trainers to do it like he had in Viridian. He actually wondered if Pewter City had any gym trainers. They had to in order to protect the city, but he hadn't seen a trace of them in his last visit.

Perhaps they were primarily sent to guard Pewter's territory from poachers and settle dangerous pokemon like Rangers. Pewter's territory was vast and untamed, making it prime land for criminals to hide in.

"What are you here for?" A teenager with dark skin asked in a deep voice. Ash grinned as he recognized Brock. The gym leader was exactly as he remembered: he still wore the same green vest and was sitting cross legged on a pedestal of stone.

"A rematch." Ash spoke up. His eyes glittered with amusement as Brock's eyes actually snapped open, although they returned to their normal form almost instantaneously.

"And why would Ash Ketchum, the Prodigy of Pallet, want to battle me again?" Brock asked as he stood up. He crossed his arms and looked quite serious, although a light smile took the bite out of his words. "I haven't improved that much since we've battled, you know."

Ash smiled. He felt Sneasel peering out over his shoulder, curiously taking in the building they were in. Sneasel probably liked how dark it was. "I'm doing another circuit of Kanto. Why wouldn't I come back here? We've both gotten better, and this time you'll take me seriously."

Brock uncrossed his arms and grinned. "It's been a slow day so far, so I'll take you up on that offer. You know the drill. We don't need to go over the rules, do we? Two-on-two, just like last time."

The gym leader quickly led him to the battlefield – it was exactly the same as when he'd first entered the dark gym – and took up his side of the field. Ash entered the challenger's box and smiled when he felt the barriers spring to life.

"Challenger chooses first." Brock called out. Ash nodded and released Bruiser. His friend pounded his chest and gave Ash a respectful nod before focusing on whatever Brock would send out. "Like you said, I've gotten better. Let's see how you work against Steelix!"

Ash reflexively shielded his eyes against some of the debris that exploded as a huge Steelix, just a bit smaller than Giovanni's, erupted in the center of the battlefield. It roared and coiled up in the tiny mountains. Dull eyes peered out at Bruiser, full of life and warmth even during battle.

"Dragon Breath!" Brock roared. He pointed unnecessarily at Bruiser. Steelix opened its gaping maw, revealing a tunnel of darkness, and blasted a huge column of light green air at Bruiser.

"Take it." Ash commanded. Bruiser wasn't fast enough to avoid the attack, so he'd just have to take the hit. While his friend was perfectly capable of anchoring himself to the ground and staying rooted, he needed Steelix to strike. There was no way he'd get close enough otherwise.

Bruiser was sent flying into the psychic barriers. He grunted as he crashed into it and fell to the ground, but recovered just in time to see Steelix rushing towards him. Brock was too secure in its indomitable power.

As Steelix lurched back and struck, Ash called out, "Do the same thing as you did with the onix!"

His friend needed no other explanation. Bruiser reared his fist back and slammed it straight into Steelix's skull as it snapped at him. Steelix roared in pain and froze for a moment, giving Bruiser a moment to pick himself up. Ash was glad that fighting-types were so much more durable than humans. If they weren't that blow would have broken Bruiser's hand.

Bruiser grunted in pain as he sprinted over to Steelix and leapt onto the steel-type's massive body. Steelix roared and bucked. Ash watched interestedly as Bruiser was sent flying high up into the air. Steelix moved to slam into him and instantly knock Bruiser unconscious through its sheer size and power, but Bruiser knew what to do.

Sneasel hopped up and down excitedly on Ash's shoulder as Bruiser maneuvered his body so that he would be able to punch Steelix as he fell down. It was remarkably similar to how Ash defeated Brock the first time.

Unfortunately, Brock seemed used to the technique. "Dragon Breath. Then Iron Tail."

Steelix blasted Bruiser with the stream of green air and sent him flying back up into the air. Bruiser flailed helplessly, but as Steelix swept its tail at him Bruiser caught it and held onto the tip. He didn't try to resist the force, which saved him from a potentially severe injury.

Bruiser squeezed as tightly as he could. Ash grinned when he saw Steelix thrash angrily in pain. The steel on his tail was beginning to bend from the immense, constant pressure. It was a slow process, but it was infuriating Steelix.

Brock shouted soothing words at Steelix to calm it, but the creature continued to thrash thanks to the pain. Finally it had enough presence of mind to try and slam Bruiser into the battlefield, but Bruiser took that moment to jump off.

"Rock Tomb!" Brock shouted. Ash didn't bother giving Bruiser commands. There wasn't much he could do to help. Bruiser knew what he was doing.

Steelix finally calmed down enough to follow Brock's order. It slammed its tail into the ground. The entire battlefield churned and groaned as the stone and earth responded to Steelix's command. Huge pillars of rock shot out from the earth and the stone walls. Each was aimed at Bruiser.

Bruiser punched through several of them before he realized he had to dodge. He destroyed one more before he charged at Steelix, who was completely focused on commanding the earth. Steelix tried to block Bruiser's charge with a wall of stone, but Bruiser barreled through it.

Steelix was too slow to avoid Bruiser as he landed a powerful punch straight into Steelix's midsection. The steel armor dented from the blow and caused Brock to resort to desperate measures. Brock seemed to realize that Bruiser was too agile for Steelix to hurt him physically, not without Bruiser being weakened.

"Hyper beam!" Brock shouted. Steelix instantly formed a ball of swirling orange and red energy in its mouth. It built up for just a few seconds before blasting towards Bruiser. Bruiser leapt out of its way, but Steelix followed him easily. Wherever the hyper beam hit the earth was covered in soot and fused into molten glass.

"On its back." Ash said with a grin. Sneasel was growling happily into his ear as the little dark-type watched the great battle. He seemed even more into it than Ash was.

Bruiser used all of his immense strength to leap onto Steelix's back. The steel-type was forced to cut off its hyper beam before it accidentally attacked itself. While the attack was classified as a normal-type move, it held so much raw energy that the effects were much like an extremely concentrated flamethrower. It was understandable why Steelix wouldn't want to melt its own armor off.

Ash grinned as Steelix collapsed to the ground for a moment. Bruiser took the time to race up to its head, slide down, and punch it right between the eyes. Steelix roared confusedly as its forehead dented. He winced at that. That would be annoying.

"Finish it." He ordered calmly. Bruiser jumped onto the solid earth and closed his eyes. The fighting-type focused all of his energy into a single movement as he turned around and slammed his fist into the same, dented spot.

Steelix's eyes opened up almost comically in shock before shutting. Its immense body grew slack before Brock returned him. The gym leader was smiling. "Good battle. I have to admit, you've done a good job training your pokemon. Let's see how well you do against Rhydon!"

Ash silently groaned. Rhydon were tough. They had incredibly thick stone armor, they had access to a wide range of attacks, and they functioned quite similar to Nidoking in a battle. As he'd learned from his friend, Nidoking were nothing to be trifled with, and, by the same logic, neither were Rhydon.

Rhydon seemed a bit larger than average for its breed, although nothing exceptional. It certainly didn't compare to the monster that Ash had met on his way to Saffron for the first time. Nevertheless, he resolved to be careful. Brock was taking him seriously now and wouldn't send out a weak pokemon against him.

"Bruiser, be careful." Ash warned. "Keep away from its tail."

Bruiser nodded and cracked his knuckles. He tensed up and prepared for a charge.

"Stone Edge!" Brock shouted. He pumped his fist in excitement. "Follow that with Earthquake! Keep it away."

Rhydon roared as rings of energy formed around it before yanking stone from the ground and fashioning it into sharp stone projectiles. It looked like it wasn't quite strong enough to transform the energy directly into the stone.

Even as the sharp rocks shot towards Bruiser, Rhydon leapt up into the air. When it landed an immense shockwave tore through the ground and made the ground ripple like water. Bruiser leapt into the air to avoid the earthquake, but two of the stones slammed into his chest and sent him crashing to the ground.

Ash winced but didn't step in yet. Bruiser would be fine. It looked like Rhydon was preparing another attack.

Bruiser dodged a weak lance of electricity that sparked forth from Rhydon's horn and began his charge. Rhydon blinked dumbly at him before slamming his tail into the ground. Another earthquake, somewhat weaker than the last, rippled through the ground.

Now that he knew what to expect, Bruiser leapt midcharge before landing easily on his feet. He quickly resumed his charge and, carried by the momentum, arrived at Rhydon quickly. The rock-type roared and tried to stab at Bruiser with its horn, but Bruiser easily ducked around the blow.

Bruno's lessons to Bruiser seemed to take hold then. Instead of simply letting Rhydon's angry attack pass, Bruiser grabbed Rhydon's head and used his immense strength to pull both of them down. Rhydon grunted angrily as it slammed into the ground next to Bruiser and kicked up a small cloud of dirt.

Rhydon was too heavy to get up easily, so Bruiser took his time. He circled around Rhydon and patiently looked for any chink in its thick armor he could exploit. When Bruiser found none, he grimaced and carefully launched a punch into the back of Rhydon's head.

The thick stone hide was excellent for neutralizing elemental attacks and most physical attacks, but it wasn't so good against blunt force. Well, that wasn't necessarily true. It protected quite well against reasonable amounts of blunt force. But the kind of power Bruiser put into his punch was far beyond what anything could ordinarily expect to encounter in the wilderness.

So it wasn't a surprise to anyone when Rhydon collapsed to the ground unconscious.

Bruiser pounded his chest and turned back to Ash as he stood above his conquered foe. He gave a respectful bow to Ash, which the trainer returned. Ash gave Bruiser a bit longer to savor his victory before he returned his friend.

Sneasel was hissing happily as well. He was scraping his claws together, which Ash took to be an expression of excitement.

"Good job, Bruiser." Ash whispered to Bruiser's pokeball. It shook a bit in response before quieting down. He had a grin on his face as he placed it back onto his belt. He stared at it a bit longer before he realized that Brock had circled around.

"I can see why the other gym leaders were impressed." Brock said with an easy grin. "That Machoke of yours is pretty impressive. I bet the others are just as good."

"They are." Ash replied. All of his battlers were incredible. He couldn't have asked for better.

Brock nodded and crossed his arms. "Well, I don't really have anything to give you. You already have the Boulder Badge and I don't have any unruly pokemon that I need to get rid of."

"A good battle is enough for me." Ash said happily. It was nice to have a gym battle that wasn't a constant struggle for victory. Technically this wasn't a gym battle, but to him it was. This had reminded him of his early days, when the gyms hadn't been a true challenge.

"Me too." Brock replied. He held out his hand, which Ash grasped in return. It was rough and calloused, exactly what he would expect from the Pewter City gym leader. "If you ever want to battle again, I'm game. I'll be ready next time."

"I'll swing by eventually." Ash smiled. It would be nice to battle Brock again. While it wasn't especially challenging, it was still fun. Bruiser could use the workout, anyways. "Thanks for the battle."

"You're welcome." Brock said. As Ash turned around to leave, he had one more thing to say. "Good luck on your journey, by the way. I'll be watching at the Conference."

Ash nodded his thanks again before walking out of the large gym. Sneasel was still perched on his shoulder and relentlessly growling and hissing as they walked back into the sun. It was still afternoon, so they had plenty of time to burn.

He wouldn't be leaving today, but he still needed to stock up on supplies. Viridian Forest had drained quite a bit of it.

So he set off to gather what he needed. It would keep him occupied for a while, at least. After that, who knew? Maybe he would get a good, long night of sleep for once.

XX

Ash stood outside of Pewter with his friends. Plume was flying overhead, lazily circling high above him. He smiled as he looked up at her. If his memories of the road from Pewter to Mt. Moon were reliable, she would be invaluable navigating the difficult terrain.

Nidoking and Tangrowth stood beside him. They were both eager to get a move on. His first friend simply enjoyed travelling and finding new challenges while Tangrowth wanted to explore and swing through the trees.

He grinned and started walking. Things had gotten dark over the last few weeks, but things were finally calming down. Maybe the world would fix itself by the time he got to Cerulean.

But he had another area to investigate first. It was the site of an incident that had shown him just how far Team Rocket was willing to go and had set him down his path. But those memories weren't important to him, not in this matter.

What was important was finding the Moon Stone. If it was as important to Nidoking as he suspected, he would spend months searching for it in the depths of Mt. Moon.

That was in the future, though. The near future, certainly, but for now he should just focus on walking. He'd get there in time.

Everything would work out for him in time. He was sure of it.

**And there's Chapter Fourteen! I know it's not a monster like the last two chapters have been, but I think it's a refreshing change. My hands aren't slowly breaking down, which is definitely a plus. **

**Enough about me. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and remember to review!**


	15. Chapter 15: Mt Moon and Old Leaders

**AN: Well, here's Chapter Fifteen. Sorry for the long wait, but I had a minor surgery that distracted me for a few days. Thanks for everyone who reviewed, followed, favorited, or read last chapter, and keep it up! Nearly 500 reviews…wow. I hope everyone enjoys this one. **

Sneasel hissed at his opponent as he circled the machop. He sent a few teasing swipes at the grey humanoid, but Machop stood its ground and punched back. The dark-type couldn't take hits like that, so he was always forced to back off.

"Icy Wind. Quick Attack with Ice Punch after." He said smoothly. Sneasel hissed his understanding before he opened his mouth and blew a beam of wind with sparkling blue snow in it at Machop. The fighting-type clenched its eyes shut and grunted in discomfort. It wasn't enough to do real damage, but the distraction was just as valuable.

The dark-type hissed and blurred forward. When he reached Machop both of his claws were covered in thick ice and emanated freezing mist. Sneasel snickered as he smashed them into Machop. The fighting-type threw a wild punch at Sneasel, but he danced away.

"Low Kick!" His foe, a girl a little older than him cried. Machop ducked and swept his leg at Sneasel just as the dark-type escaped. Sneasel grinned and hissed something that seemed to infuriate Machop. It broke into a reckless charge.

"Faint Attack."

Sneasel's fangs were bared as he vanished in a flare of darkness. He instantly appeared behind Machop and blasted a gust of frozen air into the fighter's back. Machop stumbled, which allowed Sneasel to swipe his claws at Machop's legs and flip it onto its back.

Now that the fighter was completely at his mercy, instinct flared in Sneasel's eyes and he dived for Machop's exposed throat with his razor sharp claws.

"Stop!" Ash commanded sharply. His voice instantly snapped Sneasel out of his blood rage and the dark-type stepped back. The Machop seemed a bit shaken and quickly stumbled back over to its trainer, who glared at Ash before returning the fighting-type and rushing off.

Normally Ash would be annoyed at her, but he'd warned the girl about Sneasel before the fight and had told her that he didn't want her money. He had too much as it was. Besides, he could understand the horror that arose when one's best friend was put into a dangerous situation.

"Good job." He congratulated. Sneasel growled happily back and clambered up onto his back. Ash smiled. The dark-type had taken to battle quite well, although he was still fighting the instincts that demanded he kill whatever he had at his mercy. They were making progress on that, though, so he wasn't too worried.

Ash released Nidoking once Sneasel was comfortable. Sneasel didn't need to battle anymore – he'd already been in six today – and he didn't want anyone to bother challenging him. For some reason other trainers weren't so anxious to battle him when he had a gigantic Nidoking lumbering beside him.

"Hey, buddy." Ash grinned as he patted Nidoking's thick purple shoulder. His friend grunted back and exposed his fangs in a friendly greeting. The trainer looked down the path that would lead them to their destination. "We'll reach Mt. Moon in the next few days. Do you think you can find the Moon Stone when we get there?"

Nidoking's eyes glazed over at the mention of the sacred object, but he retained enough presence of mind to nod. His great chest rose and fell excitedly at the mention of the Moon Stone. Ash grinned. He hadn't been able to be as close to Nidoking as he would have liked lately thanks to all the excitement going on. This would give him a chance to do something really meaningful for his oldest friend.

Sneasel growled something, which made Nidoking's eyes flash. The poison-type carefully raised his powerful arm and shoved Sneasel off of Ash's shoulder. Ash grinned as Sneasel sputtered and growled helplessly before he ran back up to his position on Ash's shoulder.

"You've got to be careful now, Sneasel." Ash chided gently. The dark-type growled and stared distrustfully at Nidoking, who had bared his fangs in amusement. "You're fair game now that you're training. If you can give a hit, you can take one."

Nidoking growled his agreement before he shoved Sneasel off again. The dark-type hissed in annoyance and scampered back up Ash's back. He didn't come all the way up, however, but simply peered distrustfully over his shoulder.

"Alright, that's enough." Ash said with a grin. Nidoking bared his fangs again and pounded his claws together. "I want to get to Mt. Moon tomorrow, so let's get a move on."

XX

Mt. Moon was about five miles away. Ash would just wake up early tomorrow so that they'd reach it by noon. Five miles was a pretty easy distance to cross in a few hours. They'd crossed much more than that in the six days they'd travelled so far.

He'd set up camp just a few minutes ago. There wasn't much to do, really. Just lay out his sleeping mat, light a campfire, and feed him and his friends.

Today was one of the days Infernus had deigned to eat. Not with them, of course. He'd taken a large bag of pokemon food and dragged it off into the wilderness. Ash had spotted it catching fire in the distance before Infernus had returned to the camp. The fire-type had seemed quite satisfied and had curled up next to the campfire.

Nidoking was digging into a large pile of food and berries Ash had poured onto the ground for him. It had vanished at an impressive rate, and now Nidoking was lazily picking around for the last scraps of berries. Even though he seemed relaxed, Ash's practiced eyes could spot a tenseness about him. His friend was anxious to seek out the Moon Stone.

Plume never seemed to be very hungry. Ash assumed that she was finding most of her nutrition in other places – ones that he really didn't want to think about. Nevertheless, Plume still pecked at the large pellets of food around the campfire. It seemed to be more about bonding with the team than anything else, however. She was huddled close to Nidoking.

Torrent was already finished eating. He had simply sucked most of the food in through his snout in a few seconds – in a dignified manner, of course – and contentedly watched the campfire leap and dance. The kingdra was levitating next to Ash and kept a watchful eye on the surrounding darkness.

Dazed was standing directly behind him. She was completely silent aside from the light sound of her breathing. Ash noticed that she had been a bit more paranoid about his safety ever since his nightmares began. Whenever she was out of her pokeball she never strayed from his side.

Tangrowth was sleeping up in a tree. He didn't really need to eat except every few days or so thanks to his photosynthesis. Since he had finished training Sneasel for the night – Ash wanted to get Sneasel's coordination perfect before they engaged in any serious battles, so he had Tangrowth launching several vines at once at Sneasel, who had to slice them off or be lightly stung – he seemed to have decided that the most productive thing he could do was sleep.

Sneasel, on the other hand, wasn't in any one place. The battles and intense training didn't seem to have any effect on his energy. One moment he was prodding Tangrowth to try and get the grass-type to play and the next he was jumping on Torrent's back. Ash hoped he calmed down soon. It wasn't like he could get Dazed to use hypnosis on the small dark-type.

His PokeNav suddenly began to vibrate. Ash frowned and curiously picked it up. He'd never had a call on it before. He was always the one calling. It wasn't as though he made friends with many people.

Nevertheless he flipped it open and glanced at the message. It was quite the surprise when he realized the caller was Steven. Ash hurriedly received the call.

"Steven?" He asked disbelievingly. Ash had never expected the former Champion to call him. "Do you need something?"

"No." The calm voice of the older man replied. There was something different about his tone, however. He sounded excited and happy. "But I do have something important to tell you. Pierce has been put away for life. The trial just ended."

A wide grin split across Ash's face. "That's great news!" He grew a bit more somber. "Have you heard about what's happening in Kanto right now?"

"How could I not?" Steven sighed. His voice was tight and stony. "I saw the video. Lance sent it to me, Wallace and Cynthia. That thing…it puts everything I've ever seen to shame. To defeat three of the Elite Four and so many ACE trainers is a stunning feat. If I could, I'd come and help however I could. Unfortunately, Hoenn is calling on me. We have our own problems at the moment."

Ash nodded forlornly and glanced at the video screen. Steven looked a bit younger than when he'd last seen him, but weight far beyond his years seemed to weigh down upon the former Champion's shoulders. While he would have liked for Steven to come and help, he understood his reasons. Hoenn was Steven's homeland. It came first.

"I'll come when I can." Steven promised. He smiled slightly and clasped his hands. "From what I've heard, Lance is putting his plans into action even now. The Psychic is too powerful to strike at directly, but perhaps we can force Team Rocket to fall down around it."

He understood. "Thanks for calling me. At least now I know Pierce won't escape again."

Steven's face darkened. "He won't see the light of day. I've made sure of that." He relaxed. Ash noticed that the former Champion had been clenching the armrests of the rather expensive looking chair he was sitting in tightly. "But enough of serious matters. They seem to be all too prevalent as of late."

The former Champion smiled at Ash. "I'll be at the Indigo Conference, by the way. It's supposed to be a good year for the League and I'm quite interested to see just how far you've come."

"Thanks, Steven." Ash said brightly. He was sure that Steven was there for additional security for the most part, but at least he had something to look forward to. "Will any of the other Champions aside from you and Lance be there?"

"Former Champion." Steven corrected lightly. His brow furrowed as he adopted a thoughtful expression. "I don't believe so. Every region has its problems at the moment, and it's not good for the Champions to be in one place for a myriad of reasons. They have their own Conferences to look after." He laughed. "Lance is lucky this year. The League finally moved the Silver Conference to February. He won't have to be jumping around between the two every March."

Ash grinned at that. He could only imagine how stressful it would be to oversee two Conferences at once, even if they were held on separate days. It'd be maddening.

"Thanks for calling to tell me." Ash said gratefully. He still had a smile on his face at the news. Pierce had finally been locked up for good. Team Rocket might have unveiled their own surprise, but at least there was some justice.

"You're welcome." Steven replied with a dip of his head. He glanced at his watch. "Oh, I'm sorry. I hadn't realized it was this late in Kanto. Well, good night."

Ash smiled. There was just a hint of bitterness in the expression. Last night had been a good night, so the nightmares would probably hit hard tonight. He was wondering if he should call Lance. The Champion was probably still recovering and would probably know more about the strange manifestations of his subconscious than he did.

But he didn't say any of that. "Good night, Steven."

The screen went black a moment later. Ash looked up and realized that most of his pokemon were staring at him. It was obvious that they'd heard about Pierce.

"Pierce is locked up for good." He said in a very satisfied manner. Infernus' eyes burned dark at the mention of Pierce and the fire-type rubbed at the thick scar where the hyper beam had shot through his shoulder. It was practically invisible, but it was there.

Nidoking bared his fangs happily. He didn't have any scars thanks to evolution and the growth of his thick armor, but he still had the psychological scars from his mauling. Ash patted the large poison-type on the shoulder comfortingly, eliciting a low grunt from his friend.

The others hadn't been hurt as badly by Pierce. They'd taken some damage, true, and they were certainly glad that the man who had threatened Ash was gone, but it didn't have as much of an impact on them. Ash was glad for that. Even if they would gladly kill Pierce themselves it showed that they weren't keeping grudges for too long.

Ash glanced over at Sneasel. The dark-type seemed perplexed by everything that was going on. He assumed that one of the others would fill him in later.

He yawned suddenly, which made him realize that he should get to bed if he wanted to hit Mt. Moon early. If he had any nightmares he'd get more time to recover from them as well.

With that, he stood up and laid down on his mat. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep. Infernus would probably sleep on the camp fire and keep it from going out of control, so he didn't really have to worry about that. Everything else he could get in the morning.

XX

"_**My partner is foolish**__." The Creature hissed into his mind. It raised its orb-like fingers and crushed them together. Ash's eyes bugged out and his vision burned red as horrible pain wracked his body. His bones groaned and cracked underneath the strain and his mind raced furiously as he awaited the splintering of his skeleton. "__**He will see the logic in my actions soon enough. Thank you for a most interesting battle.**__"_

_Ash screamed as the invisible force multiplied and his body began to break underneath the pressure. The last thing he saw were the Creature's cold, glowing blue eyes before everything exploded into whiteness –_

He shot out of his bed, awoken both by the thankfully quick end of the nightmare and Sneasel's worried pokes. Ash smiled tiredly down at the small dark-type. "I'm fine. Thanks for waking me."

Dazed loomed above him as well. Her eyes were worried. The others just gave him a glimpse of concern before returning to their slumber. His friends had finally accepted that he would have nightmares and, at his prodding, had simply left him to get through it. It had taken him a while to convince his friends that there was nothing they could do to help.

"Sneasel, go back to sleep." He said soothingly. Sneasel might be fighting now, but he still had a few more weeks to go before he was mature enough to sleep with another one of the "pack" or on his lonesome. The dark-type needed his sleep. "I'll be back in a minute."

Sneasel hissed before slipping back underneath the blanket. Ash glanced at the sleek form of his friend before sighing and meeting Dazed's eyes. "I know I've said this before, but thank you. You protected me from so much for the last few months."

Dazed shrugged. She didn't seem to think it was too big a deal. Or else she was trying to take the emotion out of the situation. Ash knew that she wasn't very emotional and didn't handle the feelings well.

"Still, thanks." He replied. Ash gave Dazed a quick smile before he slipped back under the blanket with Sneasel. The trainer's mind was too active to go to sleep yet, but as he stared into the innumerable stars burning in the night sky, the sight untarnished by light or smog, he felt a bit more relaxed.

In just a few minutes he returned to sleep. There were dreams, but none of those that he feared.

XX

"Are you ready?" Ash asked Nidoking. He had just recalled Plume. She would be of no use in Mt. Moon. Sneasel rode on his shoulder. It would be good practice for him to battle any aggressive wild pokemon. Unless they were strong. Then Nidoking would take over.

Nidoking growled happily and stood by Ash's side. They weren't entering the same way as he had the first time he'd entered the great mountain. He'd gotten directions from the PokeNav's map of Mt. Moon as to where he could enter a wild area.

He knew that the Moon Stone wouldn't be accessible from the ordinary path the League had created. They wouldn't allow a natural treasure like that to be easily accessible. Aside from the importance they placed upon it, many pokemon were attracted to its power. The League wouldn't want anyone to be hurt thanks to proximity to the Moon Stone or if someone tried to steal it.

"Let's head in." He said quietly. It was a shame that he hadn't brought Seeker. She needed to get out more. Still, he'd make it up to her eventually. Right now Nidoking was able to sense the earth and feel vibrations in it. Combined with Sneasel's excellent night vision, his friend would be able to navigate through the mountain quite easily.

Sneasel hissed excitedly as they took their first steps into the gaping maw of the chasm that opened into Mt. Moon's passages. Ash just had a determined smile on his face. He didn't know how long he'd spend in the labyrinth, but it didn't matter. If it made Nidoking happy he'd spend eternity in the catacombs.

XX

He adjusted to the darkness rather quickly. Ash had opted to leave his flashlight in his pack. It was better if he just let his eyes get used to the darkness. The flashlight should be saved for emergencies.

Sneasel was having quite a bit of fun running around the caves. He'd run into several geodude, but they were easily knocked out. Ash had to spend a bit of time keeping an eye on Sneasel to keep him from going for the kill. It would normally be difficult to pierce a geodude's armored carapace, but Sneasel's claws were sharp enough. Combined with his ability to freeze the rock-types, it made Sneasel a very credible threat.

Ash was also wary of the zubat as they ventured further in. He'd had a slight headache after they'd ventured deep enough into Mt. Moon, a sure sign of active zubat being present. While he could easily fight off the zubat if they decided to swarm him, he'd rather the situation not come to that. Neither group would emerge unscathed from such a confrontation.

Other than those threats, the first day was rather uneventful. Most graveler and golem lived on the outside of the mountain. Geodude only stayed inside of the safe passages to keep away from dangerous situations. Onix weren't able to survive in the network of passageways, even if they were the ones who had formed the bulk of them in the first place. The mountain had been made too unstable by their constant digging to support their immense weight. Crobat and golbat were the real concern, although not a major one.

Ash knew there was a lot of ground to cover, so he knew that he wouldn't have found it on the first day. Still, he hoped that he could find the Moon Stone without too much trouble. Something about being in a tomb of stone and earth was disheartening. It made him feel on edge, even if his eyes were able to breach the darkness well enough.

At least he wouldn't have to search the entire mountain. He knew the Moon Stone was some sort of meteorite or celestial object. Therefore it would have to be somewhere at the top of the mountain. It had probably crashed through a bit of Mt. Moon before landing in its current position, so it would be easy enough to trace should he reach the higher levels successfully.

Unfortunately even getting to the upper levels would be difficult. Mt. Moon and the chain of smaller mountains that branched off of it to the south were the entire reason Kanto could be split into two. It wasn't as large as Mt. Silver, but it and its mountain chain still dominated the entirety of northern Kanto. The great mount was a little less than nine miles in diameter, although it wasn't particularly tall compared to its counterparts in the Ore Mountains. Nevertheless it was daunting to climb, even from the inside. Ash wasn't sure if he would simply search for holes made by Onix or have Torrent and Nidoking blast holes in the mountain for him.

Ash frowned as he laid down on his mat. His friends were around him and he felt perfectly safe, but he still wasn't sure how he would go about this. Torrent would likely be far more important than would be expected in the coming days.

XX

Torrent levitated back a bit in a rather satisfied manner as a section of the mountain above them fell down. He had shot high-pressured jets of water into the ceiling to cut it out. Ash had made sure to make as much noise as possible to warn any pokemon away from their location while they did that. He really didn't want any of them getting hurt.

"Thanks, buddy." Ash said gratefully. Torrent gave him a dignified nod before Ash recalled him. He glanced over to Dazed, who was standing right beside him. "Alright, I'm ready."

He closed his eyes as Dazed teleported him to the next level. Ash didn't want to wait while his eyes grew accustomed to the light. When it was safe he opened his eyes and released Tangrowth, Sneasel, and Nidoking.

"Thank you." He told Dazed. She nodded and was silent as he recalled her. Ash glanced over to Tangrowth. The grass-type's bright, saucer-like eyes were barely visible in the darkness but he could easily hear the excited gurgle. "Hey, buddy. Can you use Ancient Power to bring that rock back up?"

Tangrowth gurgled and shot several spheres of bright white energy into it. Ash made sure to look away, but he could hear the groaning of the stone as Tangrowth wrenched and sealed it back into place. It sounded like it took some effort to manipulate the stone by the end, but Tangrowth pulled through.

"Good job, Tangrowth." He said as his friend wrapped him up in a hug with his rubbery arms. Tangrowth didn't like the caves and tried to keep contact with Ash at all times. "I'll try to let you stay in your pokeball for a while, alright?"

The grass-type gurgled happily before Ash returned him and clipped the pokeball back onto his belt. Nidoking tapped his shoulder and Ash suddenly realized that he could hear Sneasel's angry hisses and the sounds of a scuffle.

"Thanks for alerting me." He said. Nidoking grunted and lumbered after him as Ash carefully stepped over to where Sneasel was fighting. Ash could make out the familiar, spherical form of a geodude floating and punching at Sneasel, who seamlessly dodged them and responded with a blast of freezing air.

"Sneasel, let it go." Ash said sternly. He could tell that Sneasel was about to use Ice Punch on the geodude, which wouldn't be good. It would send the geodude into shock and probably crack its shell.

It was a sign of good progress that Sneasel immediately backed off. He whined at Ash as he clambered up onto the trainer's back. Ash smiled and scratched underneath his feather. "Good boy. Nidoking, can you tell if this way is a dead end?"

Nidoking grunted a negative. Ash grinned and started stepping forward, although he took the time to gently move the unconscious geodude to the side so that it wouldn't be attacked.

They'd gotten their system down quite well. Sneasel took care of any pokemon that attacked, Nidoking told him when it was a dead end or when they could go up into another passage on a higher level, Torrent sliced the stone out, Dazed teleported him up once she was able to see where she was going, Tangrowth mended the damage they'd done, and Nidoking told him where to go.

It worked perfectly. Ash didn't like hurting the environment in Mt. Moon, so he was sure to fix any damage he caused. Tangrowth was more than happy to help.

He hoped progress stayed this fast. They'd gone up at least a few hundred feet thanks to the odd slopes and teleportation, so it shouldn't be long before Nidoking was able to guide him to the Moon Stone. Ash fully expected Nidoking to feel it when they grew closer. His friend was already acting strangely happy, so it was giving him hope.

Ash wasn't sure how long they'd been at it, but he figured he would just stop once he got tired. There was no point in overexerting himself, after all. He had all the time in the world to find the Moon Stone.

Sneasel suddenly hissed and pointed. Ash snapped his attention over to his left and saw the small form of a clefairy staring at them. When it realized that he saw it, the clefairy squeaked and began to run away. Sneasel grinned and leapt off of Ash's shoulder to go catch it.

"No." Ash said. He didn't want Clefairy to get hurt. Aside from it being the best way to find the Moon Stone, he needed Sneasel to curb his aggressiveness a bit. Besides, these tunnels were Clefairy's home. If it wished it could easily make life very painful for them.

"Just track it." Ash said. Sneasel hissed and leapt off of his shoulder. He landed lightly upon the hard stone ground and slunk towards the direction of Clefairy, his nose inches from the ground. Ash was glad for Sneasel's tracking abilities. None of his other friends would have been able to do it.

Ash and Nidoking set off behind Sneasel. Hopefully they weren't too far. Still, as long as Sneasel could keep on picking up a scent Ash would be happy.

The Moon Stone awaited him.

XX

After another two hours of following the Clefairy, Ash was forced to relent. His body was exhausted and he needed to sleep. Sneasel still had all the energy in the world, but Nidoking was of a similar mind as Ash. They had been traversing the tunnels for what felt like an eternity.

He honestly wasn't sure how the Clefairy was going so fast. They weren't known for their running speed, although he supposed that they had access to other sources of movement. Clefairy held many strange powers. Not all were useful for battle, but they could do many actions that other pokemon could not.

Ash had thought about catching one while he stayed in Mt. Moon, but quickly threw that idea away. He didn't want to anger the clefairy, especially not when he was in their territory. They weren't all that strong by themselves, but in large groups they could be devastating, even more so when they were angry. Clefairy were normally just as innocent as most people thought they were, but all pokemon were willing to protect themselves.

Clefairy also tended to harbor close relationships with the pokemon living around them. If he got on their bad side he might face an entire mountain of furious pokemon. The risk was simply too great.

Ash yawned and stared at Infernus' flickering tail flame, the only light in the passages. He could barely make out the forms of his other companions. Most were asleep. But he did need to talk to one.

"Tangrowth, could you come over here?" Ash asked. Nidoking started up at his words. He had forgone his sleeping mat for Nidoking. His friend served well enough as a pillow, if a somewhat uncomfortable one. When the poison-type realized that Ash wasn't calling for him, he went back to sleep, ears twitching.

Tangrowth gurgled. His large, round eyes reflected enough light that Ash could see them clearly. Ash started when he realized that his friend was just a few feet away from him. When he'd eaten earlier – he was having to eat actual food much more often now thanks to the lack of sunlight – he had been curled up next to Torrent.

Ash glanced around for Sneasel and spotted him sharpening his claws on the cavern walls. All he could see and hear was the dark-type's bright red eyes and a long, slow scraping sound. He figured that it was loud enough to drown out Sneasel's hearing.

"Keep a close eye on him." He said quietly. Sneasel was getting a little more independent as of late and he didn't want the dark-type running off to try and hunt on his own. That could only lead to trouble. "Wake me if you need to."

Tangrowth gurgled and tapped him on the forehead before falling back to the cavern wall in slumber. Ash glanced behind him at Dazed, who was standing right behind Nidoking's massive form. Her eyes glowed eerily in the blackness of the cave and he detected a nod of understanding from her as well.

With that in mind he focused his mind on sleep. It wasn't hard with the low groaning of the caves around him and the steady rise and fall of Nidoking's chest. When he was barely conscious he felt Sneasel slide in with him underneath the worn blanket.

XX

He was disturbed from his peaceful slumber by an angry hissing. Ash immediately snapped up and saw Sneasel wrapped up in Tangrowth's vines. The trainer sighed and noted that Dazed was by his side, glaring at the yowling dark-type.

"Let him go, Tangrowth." Ash said quietly. There was a note of exhaustion in his note. Tangrowth acquiesced and gurgled at the small dark-type as he rushed over to Ash. He glanced down at Sneasel, who was very small by his side. "Thank you."

"You can't go running off on your own." Ash chided gently. Sneasel hissed glumly but obediently. "You've handled the geodude very well, but there are stronger things that haunt these passages. What would you do if you found a sandslash or golbat?"

Sneasel unsheathed his claws and blew a puff of freezing air at the wall, leaving a thin layer of frost over the hard stone. Ash shook his head. "You're doing well, but you need to stick by us. When you're stronger I'll let you run around, but just stay here for now. Deal?"

The dark-type hissed before he retracted his hooked claws and gave a hesitant nod. Ash smiled at him. "Good. Go back to bed. There'll be plenty to do in the morning." He glanced up at Dazed and Tangrowth. Ash knew that Dazed had been the one who alerted Tangrowth. She didn't sleep. "Thank you. You just saved us a lot of trouble."

Dazed silently nodded before returning to his side as a vigilant guardian. Tangrowth made his odd happy noise before he collapsed to the ground and curled up.

Ash shut his eyes and placed one arm around Sneasel. He fell asleep quickly.

XX

He knew he was close. They had searched for eight hours, following every turn and trick the Clefairy had tried to pull. There had been a few run-ins with small groups of geodude and the zubat had begun to attack whenever they drew near, but Sneasel and Nidoking easily scared them off with Icy Wind and Ice Beam, respectively.

Ash wondered if he could get Nidoking to teach Sneasel Ice Beam. He knew that Sneasel could learn it from a TM, so he should be able to learn it if he was taught it. TMs just uploaded data to a pokemon's brain. They still had to have the capability to actually use it, even if it would never happen in the wild.

The trainer was dragged from his thoughts when Nidoking gave a soft grunt and tapped him on the shoulder with a dull claw. Ash stopped and glanced over at the barely visible form of his friend. "What is it?"

Nidoking growled and snorted. Sneasel hissed softly and hid behind Ash. Ash just watched carefully with crossed arms as Nidoking shut his eyes, which had acquired a silvery shine over the last hour. The great poison-type focused and lightly tapped his foot on the ground.

Ash frowned and stepped back when the tunnel began to shake and rumble from Nidoking's power. Nidoking suddenly caused the rumbling to cease, leaving nothing to remember it by but a thin layer of dust.

The poison-type stepped to the wall directly in front of them and turned around. His eyes shined from an otherworldly source as he brought his tail forward and suddenly slammed it into the wall, sending the ancient stone blasting outwards.

He coughed and covered his mouth and nose with his shirt as dust pervaded the air. Sneasel hissed and blew most of it away with a puff of icy air. Ash nodded his thanks before stepping up next to Nidoking. It was odd. His friend, normally calm and steadfast, seemed both excited and reverent.

Ash froze when he stood next to Nidoking. They stood on the edge of an immense crater. He looked down. There was naught but darkness, although he thought that part of the darkness seemed more intense than the rest, somehow. The trainer assumed that the tiny pinprick of shadow was the Moon Stone.

Then he looked up. Ash blinked in awe as he realized just how far away the sky was. After nearly three days of scaling the mountain from the inside they were only a little more than three fourths of the way up. But their height didn't matter, he mused. Their path was clear.

"Great job." He said reverently. Nidoking growled. His eyes glowed now, alit with an inner flame of flickering silver. The Moon Stone had a far stronger effect than Ash had expected. Its energy awoke something in the creatures whose evolution it sparked, something more than mere metamorphosis.

"Do you want Dazed to teleport us down or do you want me to recall you and fly down?" Ash questioned. Nidoking paused and grunted once. The trainer nodded and glanced down at Sneasel. Even his ruby eyes held a glimmer of silver thanks to their proximity to the Moon Stone. It was the only part of the dark-type that Ash's eyes could make out in the blackness. "I'm recalling you, alright?"

Sneasel hissed in annoyance but didn't fight as the red energy engulfed him and lit the entire cave. When it vanished, the only light source left was the pure light of the stars shining down through the crater.

Dazed's eyes didn't burn with silver when she was released. They simply exuded dark blue light, the same as whenever she used her power. Ash smiled when she nodded at him. She knew what had happened.

"Can you teleport us to the Moon Stone?" He questioned. Dazed cocked her head and considered for a moment before nodding. Ash was relieved. Sometimes large sources of energy such as the Moon Stone could have strange effects on psychics. At least Dazed would be fine.

Nidoking braced himself as Dazed shut her eyes and focused. He grunted in pain as the psychic energy entombed him in its bright, crushing grip and warped the trio down into the abyss.

Ash looked around in the darkness. He could only see traces of the large crater thanks to the weak starlight filtered through the atmosphere. Dazed and Nidoking stood by his side, each taking in the sacred place in awe.

He couldn't see the Moon Stone. His eyes were still maladjusted thanks to recalling Sneasel. The bright light had ruined whatever adaptations he had made over the hours.

Just because he couldn't see the Moon Stone didn't mean he couldn't feel it.

The Moon Stone released powerful energy that raised every hair on his body. It sent lightning coursing through his nerves and reverence flooding into his brain. Ash didn't fight it. He simply stood still with closed eyes. Starlight bathed him just as the Moon Stone's aura did.

He heard Nidoking take a knee, a powerful statement for the proud monarch. Dazed did not, but her glowing eyes, alit without any effort on her part, shined strangely. They pulsed with emotion, revealing just the hint of a large boulder's outline.

Ash breathed deeply one last time to let the energy enter his body before he looked straight up. The crater was far deeper than he had anticipated. It was at the very bottom of Mt. Moon, right where the mountain met the earth. When the Moon Stone had fallen from the heavens it had fallen hard.

They were thousands of feet down from their previous position, but he could see a barely visible half- moon hanging high above them through the gaping hole in the mountain, releasing what dim light it could upon its scion. It seemed that the stars were not the only thing attempting to reveal the crater to his seeking eyes.

And then a crushing weight fell upon him. Ash gasped as he collapsed to the ground. It felt as though he weighed a thousand pounds, although, quite fortunately, his body wasn't crushing itself with his own weight. That would be an embarrassing way to go, especially after he'd escaped death from the Creature.

Nidoking was strong enough to remain standing, even when Ash felt the weight slowly increase. He remained on his knee, however, blind to the troubles of the world as he gazed upon the celestial body that meant so much to his kind. Ash wondered just how much power it had over him. A single shard of the Moon Stone had held his attention for hours on end. The trainer wasn't even sure if Nidoking was capable of thought at the moment.

Dazed was unaffected. Her eyes emanated a frightening amount of light as she fueled an intensely powerful shield around her. It grew brighter and brighter under the strain of resisting whatever power was doing this. She looked helplessly down at him, although her attention was forced to return to maintaining her own protection.

When his mind cleared, Ash recognized this technique. He'd seen Will use it back in the Finals two years ago. It was called Gravity. The effects were obvious: whatever used the technique utilized psychic energies to manipulate reality around the target so that gravity was stronger around them. Quite useful for bringing down levitating creatures or flying-types.

And that meant Clefairy and Clefable. They were the only pokemon Ash knew of on Mt. Moon that could utilize the technique, rare as it was. It seemed that he had angered them in approaching their object of worship.

He squinted as the moonlight suddenly intensified, casting everything in a bright silver glow. Nidoking's eyes seemed to be moons themselves.

Ash's attention and reverence was first directed to the Moon Stone itself. The Moon Stone was a huge, roughly spherical object of stone blacker than black. All light seemed to be directed around it, never reflecting off. It was as though it was a hole in the world, albeit one that was physical.

But then he saw the pokemon surrounding them and blanched.

Three Nidoking and Three Nidoqueen stood beside the Moon Stone, eyes burning with the power infused into their bodies by the Moon Stone. They were led by the largest Nidoking and Nidoqueen Ash had ever seen.

The Alpha Nidoking was the paragon of his species. He was nearly twice the size of Ash's friend and his armor was so thick that Ash wasn't sure anything could breach it. His horn was nearly two feet long and dripped vile poison that sizzled when it landed upon the stone pedestal that kept the Moon Stone from touching mundane ground.

The Alpha Nidoqueen was no less impressive. She seemed to be calmer than the Alpha Nidoking, but still held a bright, shining anger about her. Her body was roughly nine feet tall and Ash suspected that she was six feet from the tip of her muzzle to her tail. Her armor, while less thick than Nidoking's, was covered in decades worth of battle-scars.

He wouldn't be able to take either of the Titans in battle. Even Torrent would be helpless against the sheer strength they exuded, empowered by their long proximity to the Moon Stone. They were the perfect guardians – indomitable and reverent to their charge.

The Patriarch sent the entire mountain groaning as he moved – at least that's what it seemed like to Ash. Every step sent ripples of energy through the ground, completely unintentional upon the Patriarch's part.

It stared down at Nidoking, who refused to look away from the Moon Stone. The Patriarch growled, a sound that elicited every bit of Ash's self-preservation instincts to run, and laid the massive horn that could probably spear through a steelix at Nidoking's throat. His friend didn't react at all, drowned by the Moon Stone's influence.

Ash wasn't so blinded. He snarled and thrashed as a bead of poison dripped from the Patriarch's horn onto Nidoking's back, powerful enough to eat through a bit of Nidoking's armor. The Patriarch growled down at him and put his horn at Ash's throat, but Ash just glared back at the Patriarch's ancient, narrow eyes.

The Patriarch's irises seemed to be filled with fury at Ash's defiance and he roared. Ash refused to flinch away as the mountain trembled beneath the Patriarch's voice, the gnawing fear held back by steely resolve.

A tiny drop of poison fell onto the ground in front of Ash. He stared as it ate several inches through the earth, leaving a rancid smell in its wake. The Patriarch lowered his horn so it was a mere inch from stabbing into Ash's frail throat.

That was what broke Nidoking's vacant stare. He yanked himself up, despite the crushing force that was still placed upon his body, and tried to charge at the Patriarch. The Patriarch simply grunted and used a single hand to wrench Nidoking back into position. Nidoking growled and roared, but it was a pitiful thing compared to the Patriarch's.

A low hum distracted the Patriarch from his rage. The Matriarch stepped forward, leaving the lesser Nidoqueen arrayed next to the Moon Stone. She sniffed the air and slowly lumbered over to Ash. Her movements were just as powerful as the Patriarch's, who was currently glaring down at Ash, but more refined. There was a strange grace in her movements that Ash wouldn't have expected from a pokemon her size.

The Matriarch tapped the Patriarch on the shoulder with a blunt claw that could have easily crushed a boulder into fine powder. Ash held back a sigh of relief as the Patriarch stepped back and removed his horn from Ash's throat.

He watched as the Matriarch glanced at Dazed and met her eyes, molten silver matching burning blue. In just a few moments she made a satisfied noise and stared down at Nidoking, who still bared his fangs at the Patriarch. His friend's attention was soon focused upon the Matriarch, however, who cooed softly at Nidoking.

Nidoking grunted back for a few seconds. The Matriarch gave a nod with her great head and stepped back. She stamped her foot against the ground, which caused Ash's teeth to rattle and the force of thunder to roll through his bones, and gave a low, bright cry.

Ash gasped in relief as the weight crushing down upon him vanished. He painfully pulled himself up and breathed deeply. His lungs hurt badly from the intense pressure. The trainer nodded at Dazed, who quickly allowed her shield to dissipate. Her yellow-furred body slackened as the power she'd been forcing through her mind vanished, but she stayed standing.

"Are you alright, Nidoking?" Ash asked through gritted teeth. Nidoking growled and protectively stood next to Ash, reminding the trainer quite a bit of the beginning of their adventures, back when Nidoking was a small, fearful Nidoran.

His friend glared hatefully at the Patriarch, who seemed unimpressed. The Patriarch snorted and stared disdainfully back.

Ash's eyes were drawn to movement at every edge of his vision. He frowned when he realized that dozens of Clefairy were separating themselves from the shadows. Each of their eyes glowed the same eerie silver as Nidoking's.

But there were others mixed in. There were about ten jigglypuff intermixed with the clefairy and cleffa, and about three wigglytuff staring at him with molten eyes. He cocked his head curiously when he saw several small, pink felines standing next to a large, tan feline with purple ears at the back of the group.

A single Clefable suddenly appeared in front of him. It seemed to materialize from nothingness, although Ash wasn't sure how. He didn't think that Clefable could learn teleport. Not naturally, anyway.

He'd only seen Clefable on TV before. None of them even compared to this one. It seemed to be ethereal, its star-shaped body shimmering as though it were underwater. Clefable's eyes shined as brightly as the Matriarch and Patriarch's, perhaps even brighter. The normal-type waved its hand and forced him to his knees, eliciting a growl from Nidoking. Dazed quickly shut him up.

Clefable gently grabbed his face with a small hand and forced him to look into its burning silver eyes. The small pokemon seemed ageless, neither young nor old. Ash didn't know how old it was, but the aura of power it exuded made it seem like it was as old as the Moon Stone, the very incarnation of its essence.

In practice it was probably just a very old, very powerful Clefable. Still, something about the Clefable made Ash think that the Matriarch and Patriarch were merely assistants or acolytes. The true Guardian of the Moon Stone stood before him.

He hissed as he saw Clefable waggle one of its fingers and place the glowing digit upon his forehead. He'd heard that Clefable and its line were shy. Researchers had apparently never met this stern, ageless creature.

Clefable closed its eyes, but the molten silver glow was still present from behind its eyelids. Ash felt a presence, ancient and fluid, slip into his mind and take in his entire being. It must have used Mind Reader or some variation on it, although Ash had no idea how it had done so. The normal-type had clearly used Metronome. For it to have gotten exactly what it required was disturbing. Nothing could choose what it wanted from the move.

The normal-type withdrew its finger from Ash's forehead and waggled it again. Ash felt strangely exhausted from the mental intrusion. Clefable's eyes glowed a mixture of bright blue and molten silver as it used the technique Ash recognized as Future Sight. Once again, its selection of its move disturbed him. Metronome was random. Pure chance. It had never been commanded with precision.

But those worries were wiped away when Clefable's wide face, which was simply an extension of its body, broke into a smile. It snapped its finger and Ash heard Dazed collapse. He worriedly glanced over and saw that a psychic net had dematerialized from around her. The trainer scowled at the attack on his friend, but Dazed shook her head.

Ash sighed and glanced over at Nidoking. He was back underneath the Moon Stone's thrall, although he made sure to move with Ash.

Clefable smiled again and motioned toward the Moon Stone before waggling its fingers and disappearing seamlessly into the universe. Ash recognized teleportation when he saw it.

But he broke into a smile as he realized that they had been given permission to go to the Moon Stone. Ash was aware of the eyes of dozens – no, hundreds, he realized as he looked around at the growing number of pokemon drawn to the Moon Stone – of pokemon upon him.

He ascended up the smooth stone pathway to where the Moon Stone rested. The Patriarch and Matriarch were silent as he passed by their vigilant eyes, as were their fellow Nidos. When he was mere feet from the Moon Stone, he stopped.

"Nidoking, go on." He said with a smile. Nidoking was broken from his spell and turned his great head to Ash, shocked at what the trainer was giving to him. "You deserve to go first. This is your journey."

Nidoking grinned at Ash, exposing all of his fangs. He stepped forward, but stopped. The poison-type looked at Ash with bright silver eyes and pointed. Ash blinked. Nidoking was giving up his chance to go first? He'd managed to break the Moon Stone's power over him?

He glanced at Dazed, who shook her head. Ash slowly stepped forward and reverently placed his hand upon the impossibly smooth, glossy surface of the Moon Stone. It seemed to shimmer underneath his touch.

Ash closed his eyes. He could feel the energy from the Moon Stone flowing through his body, stimulating his nervous system and giving him strength. Something about the massive amount of energy emanating from the Moon Stone made him understand why so many pokemon seemed to worship, or at the least revere, the Moon Stone. Ash didn't get a fraction of what they did from it and it was incredible.

For just a moment he wanted to stand there and let his body remain empowered by the Moon Stone for eternity. But he yanked his mind from that addiction and simply ran his hand over the Moon Stone's glossy surface for a few more moment. He couldn't hold back a smile when he felt a tiny chip in the otherwise perfect surface.

He had no idea how Steven had convinced the Guardian to let him take a shard from the Moon Stone. Steven must have been incredibly convincing, or at the least a very smooth talker. Or perhaps the Clefable had seen something in the former Champion that merited a reward.

Whatever it was, Ash knew just how impressive Steven's feat was when he pulled his hand away from the Moon Stone and stepped back. He watched with a soft smile as Nidoking stepped forward, bound to the Moon Stone's will.

Nidoking's eyes flared up when he gently touched the Moon Stone with the very tip of his claw. What was once a flickering silver flame ignited into silver suns as the celestial object's energy flooded Nidoking's body. His friend was still for nearly a minute as he was content to simply bask in the Moon Stone's power.

Finally, Nidoking stepped away. He lumbered over to Ash and wrapped him in as gentle a hug as the massive creature could manage. Ash grinned and returned the hug as best he could. Nidoking reared his head back and met Ash's eyes with his own burning silver. There was pure gratitude in them, no sign of any other emotion except for pure happiness visible.

Ash squeezed his friend's armored shoulder before he glanced over and saw Dazed. She seemed almost bored as she touched the Moon Stone, although her eyes burned just as brightly as Nidoking's. In just a few moments she had joined him and Nidoking, although her gaze did linger on the Moon Stone for a few more seconds.

He quickly released the rest of his friends. The Patriarch growled and lowered his horn, but the Matriarch calmed him. Apparently all of his friends had been judged worthy as well.

Plume awkwardly hopped over to the Moon Stone. Her eyes didn't glow, but they did have a shine to them. Ash assumed it was because she was fairly mundane. Nidoking and Sneasel had a strong connection to the Moon Stone, or at least the night. Dazed was simply powered by the energy released from it.

She bowed her large head and gingerly touched the Moon Stone with her beak. Her eyes glowed slightly, but the light was cut off the moment she hopped away from the sacred stone. Ash gently stroked her crest when she arrived. Plume cooed and lightly nipped his hat. The trainer wondered just how long it would be before she accidentally sliced through it.

Sneasel tried to dash past the others, but Torrent gave him a hard glare. The dark-type timidly slunk away, wary of the temper Torrent had been revealing in bits and pieces over the past few days. Torrent snorted when Sneasel ran off and levitated up to the Moon Stone. He cocked his head and closed his eyes before dipping his head and lightly touching the onyx with the tip of his snout. In just a second he had his fill of the intoxicating energy and floated away.

Torrent was certainly the most immune to the Moon Stone so far. Perhaps it was a result of his own strength of mind and body, or perhaps he was simply untrusting of it. He seemed to respect strong will and independence. To see so many pokemon bound to the Moon Stone's energy was probably disturbing to him.

Ash had to admit that he was a little worried when Infernus stepped forward. He had shoved past Tangrowth with something unidentifiable in his dark eyes. The trainer was afraid that Infernus would try to burn the Moon Stone or use Brick Break on it. It seemed like the petty sort of thing Infernus would do if he had the desire.

He gave a sigh of relief when the magmar snorted at the Moon Stone. Infernus tapped it with one of his sharp claws. His eyes didn't change at all, but simply burned with his own inner fire. The fire-type growled in disgust and took his place by Torrent. His tail flicked around in annoyance, casting off angry blue flames. Ash thought he seemed more disappointed than anything else, as though Infernus couldn't understand what the fuss was about.

Sneasel dashed past Tangrowth, who didn't seem to mind in the least. The grass-type simply kept a few vines behind Sneasel to catch him should he fall on the smooth stone. Ash smiled at that, but found his attention focused upon Sneasel.

The newest addition to the team touched a claw to the Moon Stone with reverence Ash had never expected. Ash had heard that the most important thing in each Weavile and Sneasel pack's unique culture was the night. Still, he hadn't expected it to be an inborn trait, even with Sneasel's strong connection to darkness. The Moon Stone seemed to be as important to him as it was to Nidoking.

Sneasel took a knee and kept his eyes squeezed shut. After what felt like an eternity he finally stepped away, although he sent longing looks toward the Moon Stone and its strength. There was a look of greed in his eyes, mixed with reverence.

Tangrowth was last. He stared at the Moon Stone for a few moments before waddling over. The grass-type cocked his vine-covered head and poked the Moon Stone with one of his large, rubbery arms. Ash smiled as he continued to poke it, not really sure what he was supposed to do.

Finally, Tangrowth got bored and waddled over. Ash noted that he didn't seem enthralled by his contact with the Moon Stone at all. Perhaps it was a sign of a strong will or perhaps Tangrowth simply didn't understand the appeal of power.

He flinched when Clefable suddenly appeared in front of him. The ethereal fairy smiled mysteriously at him before snapping its fingers.

Ash didn't have time to react before everything went black.

XX

The harsh sun pounded on his face. Ash groaned and groggily sat up, eyes blearily glancing around to see where he was. He suddenly stood up. Lightning shot through his body as he remembered the Moon Stone and the events that had taken place there.

Ash realized that all of his friends were still unconscious save for Dazed and Sneasel. He assumed that it was some sort of psychic technique the Clefable used on them. Clefable seemed to have a knack for them.

"Dazed, where are we?" He questioned. Dazed smiled at him with her eyes and dipped her head to his right. Ash walked over but froze when he stared down into an abyss so deep that even bright sunlight could not reach it. He immediately knew where they were: the very peak of Mt. Moon. "Wow."

Dazed nodded and shuffled over to him. She peered deep into the darkness as well, but her eyes suddenly glowed. Ash breathed deeply when a film of psychic energy covered his eyes, casting everything in a dark blue shadow but illuminating so much.

The shadows that somehow remained in the wake of the sun's appearance were dispelled, showing that they had been created through psychic means. At the bottom of the impossibly deep yawning hole at the peak of Mt. Moon laid the Moon Stone, just as perfect as he remembered. The sunbeams seemed to bend around it, unable to touch the sacred object.

"I guess we had our time." Ash mused. Dazed nodded in agreement. He glanced over at the pile of his friends. Sneasel was running about and poking them. The dark-type snickered every now and then as one of his victims unconsciously growled or twitched. "Can you wake them up?"

Dazed shook her head. Ash sighed. "It looks like a waiting game, then. We just need Plume to wake up. I know you aren't able to teleport to the base of the mountain yet."

The psychic-type nodded understandingly. She stayed in the same place as Ash found himself a somewhat comfortable pillow in the form of Nidoking. He was still a bit tired, despite the hours he had probably spent snoozing on the mountaintop.

He shut his eyes and lowered the bill of his cap. With the sun gone, it didn't take too long for him to dip back into a sea of blackness.

For the first time in around three weeks his sleep was dreamless.

XX

"Alright, Plume, are you ready?" He asked somewhat nervously. Plume affectionately nipped his shoulder and nodded. Her eyes were bright and eager for this. Ash sighed and mounted Plume the way the pokedex had told him to. Thanks to her being able to manipulate air currents with some of her moves, a saddle was not necessary. It would have made him feel safer if he had one, though.

"Take it easy, alright?" He requested. Plume nodded before taking off. Ash yelped as his second friend took to the skies with a single wing beat. The trainer clung tightly to her feathered body as she blasted through the air.

Although he knew how smooth a flier she was, he was still surprised when there was little air resistance. He wasn't buffeted by the air at all, which meant that he loosened his grip just a little bit. Ash was never more grateful for teaching her Tailwind. It was intended to let Plume push herself along with air, but she had mastered it to the degree that she could bend the air in front of her out of the way, creating a perfect bubble that enabled her to travel even faster than she ordinarily would have.

He hesitantly looked down at the ground, which Plume was quickly approaching. Even from their rapid descent – Ash didn't want to know just how fast Plume was really going – the trees appeared as nothing more than a seamless mass of different shades of green, although some differentiation occurred as they grew closer to the ground.

Ash was almost tempted to have Plume fly him to Cerulean City, but he knew it was too risky. They needed more experience with this before attempting such a long journey. It would be at least a few hours long. Plume wasn't slowed down that much from Ash riding her, but Cerulean was a week's time away by foot.

The trainer found himself actually enjoying the flight by the time it ended. Once he got over his nerves and the prospect that any real adjustments on Plume's part would probably send him flying into nothingness it was rather pleasant. He'd have to do this again eventually.

"Thanks, girl." He said with a wide grin on his face. Ash patted Plume's side before he released Nidoking and Sneasel. Plume cried out and cooed at him before taking to the skies once more. She seemed rather pleased with herself. Ash watched her go before turning to his friends. "Well, it's a long way to Cerulean. We'd best get started."

Nidoking growled in agreement and stood faithfully by Ash's side before they set off. Sneasel ran ahead, probably looking for some wild pokemon to chase. Ash smiled as Nidoking stood alongside him. They'd never lost any of the closeness between trainer and starter, but their bond felt even stronger now.

Ash met his friend's eyes and grinned before they started walking. Last night had been amazing, but today was a new day. It was time to start anew.

XX

The route to Cerulean was rather boring, honestly. Most trainers were put off by the large, intimidating Nidoking that walked beside him or by Torrent, whose haughty glare was enough to send most scurrying off. He still managed to find a few willing to battle his real team, though, and they tended to be good ones. Not always difficult, but the other trainers were determined.

Sneasel got in a good bit of practice as well. Most trainers were much more amenable to fighting the small dark-type than the hulking Nidoking. They tended to think better of it after seeing Sneasel in action – he'd grown much stronger very quickly, although he was leagues behind the rest of the team and likely would be for another few months at the very least.

They'd been travelling for five days now and Ash had made camp. The PokeNav said he was only six miles away from Cerulean, so he figured that would be a good warm up in the morning.

He prodded the dim, flickering flames with a stick. Ash idly raised the stick when its end caught aflame and blew it out, which left only a bright, glowing ember in its wake.

Sneasel promptly dashed over and blew it out with a puff of freezing air, although he leapt past and scurried into a tree. Ash shook his head at the small prank before he glanced over at Nidoking. The little dark-type needed to burn some of that energy, and training was the best way to do it.

"Nidoking, could you fire an ice beam at him?" Ash yawned. He leaned back into the stone he was sitting in front of and smiled when Sneasel hissed and fell out of the tree once Nidoking had shot the beams of intensely cold light at him. "Evasion practice, Sneasel."

The dark-type growled and glared at Ash, only to leave himself open to another of Nidoking's intentionally weak ice beam. Sneasel yelped as he was sent flying back into a tree. A thin layer of frost covered his fur, which Sneasel struggled helplessly against.

Tangrowth helpfully shattered the ice with a few strategically placed strikes of his vines. Sneasel hissed and glared at Nidoking again, although this time he was fast enough to evade the single strand of icy energy. It struck a bush and completely froze it.

Infernus snorted and joined in on the game as well. He looked up from where he was curled up and shot a feeble stream of dull orange flame at Sneasel, who promptly ducked underneath it. Ash nodded thankfully at Infernus for not using anything more powerful.

Sneasel shot a cone of icy air towards Infernus, which didn't even make contact thanks to Infernus suddenly flaring up, wreathing his body in fire. He idly shot another stream of fire towards Sneasel, who leapt above it and avoided a feeble ice beam from Nidoking in the process.

Ash smiled as the dark-type did his best to escape the attacks. He was fast and agile, so it wasn't too much of a problem. Still, Sneasel weren't built for endurance. They were fast hunters meant to strike with a partner and escape, not to dog their prey until it collapsed. That was a weakness Ash was doing his best to fix with exercises like this.

When Sneasel accidentally jumped into a sleeping Torrent, he froze and met Torrent's suddenly angry eyes. Sneasel's expression changed as he realized just how much trouble he was in before he suddenly dodged a blast of water from Torrent. The game had another player.

For several minutes Sneasel dodged dozens of attacks from Nidoking, Infernus, and Torrent. He was obviously breaking underneath the assault, however. His reflexes were slowing and his movements were less agile.

Dazed seemed content to watch as Sneasel struggled to fight back, a stark contrast to Tangrowth, who seemed rather worried. There was no love lost between the psychic and dark-type.

Ash motioned for the game to stop when Sneasel was hit by a weak blast of water from Torrent and went flying into a tree. Infernus snorted amusedly and returned to sleep, bathed in the heat of the campfire.

"Good job, Sneasel." He said with a pleased grin. Sneasel panted and glared at him, but couldn't find the energy to growl at Ash. The dark-type always got a little prickly during training, especially when it was unexpected. At least he was tired out now. "Come over here and go to sleep."

Sneasel hissed at Nidoking as he passed, but quietly slipped under Ash's arm. Ash felt his breathing slow and steady as the dark-type finally fell asleep. He smiled before bidding his friends a good night.

It didn't take him long to fall asleep himself.

XX

Cerulean was the place that most trainers truly began their journeys. The west side of Kanto, aside from the Viridian gym, was a learning experience. It was where young trainers tended to congregate and get a bit of experience before exploring and battling seriously.

Its gym did a good job of testing young trainers. While it was hardly difficult, the unprepared would be torn apart by the pokemon the Cerulean normally used. The gym leaders were actually quite competent when they deigned to actually battle. They had to be if they wanted to keep their positions. The League wouldn't let just anyone protect and essentially rule a large part of Kanto.

While his last battle there hadn't been particularly difficult, perhaps he could get them to use one of their real pokemon, the ones they would bring to a serious battle. Ash had heard that they had a few incredibly powerful pokemon there, each exceptional.

Still, he had to focus as he entered the Pokemon Center at about three o' clock. He just wanted to get in and out. Neither he nor his friends were tired enough from the journey to need to wait to battle.

"How can I help you?" The attendant chirped. She had a bright smile on her pretty face as she greeted him. Sneasel purred contentedly as she waved at him. There were several teenage trainers staring at her from the TV area, Ash noticed.

"I just need a room." Ash told her. The attendant nodded and gave him a key to one of the second story rooms.

"Have a good stay!"

Ash nodded his thanks before walking out of the Center. He pocketed the card. A few other trainers watched him curiously, locked onto Sneasel. They were probably confused as to why anyone would allow such a notoriously vicious pokemon to have its claws anywhere near their throat. Sneasel were involved in quite a few "training accidents".

He just glanced at them before he left the Pokemon Center. Maybe he'd get a battle out of a few of them later. Nidoking needed a challenge. His first friend definitely wouldn't be battling in the Cerulean gym.

But before he stepped out, he saw what was on the TV screen. It was the news.

"…the storm that passed through Saffron City a month ago has centered in the north east of Kanto." A female anchor droned. "It has remained strong and engulfs an area of ten miles in heavy rain and lightning. Experts report that the storm is growing and are baffled at this turn of events. The League has been silent on the matter."

Someone clicked to the next station.

"And the death toll continues to rise as the League raids on Team Rocket grow more frequent." A tall, stocky man said grimly. "We have word that League casualties have risen to nearly a hundred over the past few weeks, ever since the incident in Viridian City. Officials have claimed Team Rocket is being driven back, but this reporter has to ask: Just how long before the Rockets strike back?"

Ash scowled and clenched his fists. Sneasel hissed curiously at him, but Ash just walked out the door. He didn't want to hear about that. It was a good thing that he'd been out in the wilderness for so long. The grim realities of the war in the shadows with Team Rocket were quickly appearing.

But he had to wonder the same thing as the newscaster. How long would it be until the Rockets unleashed the Creature again?

XX

"Welcome to the Cerulean City gym!" The girl at the front desk said brightly when Ash stepped up. It wasn't quite as busy as the last time he was here, but there were still quite a few challengers ahead of him. She looked up and cocked her head quizzically. "Hey, have we met? You seem familiar."

"I've been here before." Ash noted. "It's been a few months, though. I think it was back in May."

The girl nodded. "I guess that's it. Anyway, are you here for a gym battle or are you wanting a ticket to one of the shows?"

"I'm here for the gym." Ash replied quickly. He didn't care to watch people swim, not when he could be making progress on his journey.

"Name and badge number, please." She requested. It was something he hadn't expected to run into. Most of the primary gyms either went all out like Surge, Koga, Sabrina, Blaine, and Giovanni, or just adjusted for the kind of trainer that usually went to the gym like Brock, Erika, and the Sisters.

Ash adjusted his hat. "Ash Ketchum, eight badges."

The girl's head snapped up. Her eyes were wide with surprise. "Really? But this has to be your first year."

"Yes." He said with a shrug. "I just focused."

She rolled her eyes. "Alright, I've sent it in. You'll be called in soon. But I've got to ask something. What are you doing here if you've already got your badges? The Cerulean gym isn't the hardest."

"I'm doing another loop." He explained before a small smile crossed his face. "Besides, Daisy wanted me to come back when I'd gotten stronger."

The receptionist nodded. "Got it. You'll get called up in a few minutes."

Ash dipped his head and took a seat. There were only a few other trainers hanging around. Most trainers had already gotten the Cascade Badge by this point, so only the stragglers remained. In about five minutes, a bit after the trainer before him had been called up, a familiar voice broke the monotony of the situation.

"Ash Ketchum, you're up!" Misty called out. Ash stood up and glanced curiously at the girl. She looked just like she had a few months ago, although much cleaner. Being in a city instead of on the road could do that.

Her blue eyes widened when she saw him walk up. Sneasel bared his fangs at her in greeting, although she just ignored him. "I knew your name sounded familiar! How's it going?"

Misty seemed much friendlier than she had last time. Ash just did his best to ignore his surprise. "Pretty good. I thought you were travelling, though. How are you?"

"Good. I just got tired of being on the road. All I'd wanted to do was see Kanto for myself, and I went to every city. I got back about a month ago. My sisters are annoying, but it's nice to be home." Misty said as she led him out to the massive swimming pool. She glanced back at him guiltily. "Sorry about the last time we battled. I was being a brat."

"It's fine." He said uneasily. That wasn't a part of his journey he liked to recall. "If I remember it right, I wasn't nice either. That was right after a pretty bad event. I still hadn't gotten over it."

She nodded, but before the surprisingly friendly girl could inquire more, Ash noticed the Sensational Sisters standing in front of the challenger's box. They were chatting about something, but lit up when they saw Ash.

Ash blinked when he found himself being hugged by the Sensational Sisters. That…wasn't the greeting he had expected.

"Thank you so much!" One of them gushed. Ash couldn't remember her name. Was it Violet? "Karen told us what you did back in Viridian! That was, like, totally awesome. You saved Lance and did all of the girls in Indigo a favor!"

He blinked again. Ash sent a desperate glance to Misty. While he wasn't particularly averse to being touched, he didn't like his personal space to be invaded. He'd gotten better about it ever since Tangrowth joined the team, but the point still stood. She just looked at him with wide eyes.

Ash had to admit that he was surprised that Karen had told them. The caustic teenager didn't seem the type to talk much with the bubbly, air-headed Sisters. He halfway suspected that she'd told them just on the off chance that he went to the Cerulean gym again. Karen was the type to mess with him like this.

"Oh, sorry. You probably came here for something else, didn't you?" Daisy apologized. He remembered her more vividly than the others. They let him go. While he wasn't exactly able to breathe during the hug, it wasn't nearly as crushing as that of his mother's.

"I just wanted a battle." He explained as he brushed himself off and readjusted his jacket and hat. The Sisters sighed in disappointment.

"Fine." The last one, Lily, he thought, said despondently. "You got the runt last time, right?"

Ash nodded, but he sent an apologetic glance at Misty. He didn't want to ruin whatever friendly connection they had at the moment. She just crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. Misty seemed used to the teasing.

"Well, let's go then! Don't worry, we'll give you a good fight. One on one." Daisy exclaimed. The Sisters laughed as one. Ash cocked an eyebrow as they ran off to the other side of the pool. That was unexpected.

"I hope you've got an electric-type." Misty muttered to him before she went off to work as the referee. "Daisy looks serious about this one. She only gets like this if she thinks a battle will be really good."

Ash nodded his thanks to her before stepping into the platform. He tapped each of his pokeballs as he thought over which would be the best for this battle.

Nidoking had thunderbolt, but there was way too much of a chance that he would fall into the water. That would be a disaster, so his first friend was out.

Plume had worked well in the pool last time, but if they used what he suspected she would be practically powerless.

He picked Torrent the moment he thought over his friend's gifts. Torrent was a powerhouse that could stand up to most anything. The dragon-type could take plenty of hits and would be at an incredible advantage in the pool. While he held an incredible amount of power on land, he was truly at home in the water. There was a reason Kingdra were called the Lords of the Sea.

The others had something to offer, but none would be as powerful in this gym as Torrent. Besides, it would be nice to see what his friend was really capable of.

Sneasel growled as Torrent appeared on the tiny strip of land. He apparently hadn't forgiven the dragon for the surprise training last night.

Torrent, on the other hand, seemed ecstatic at finally being around a large source of water. Ash smiled brightly as he saw the joy in his friend's warm scarlet eyes.

"Oh, he's beautiful!" He heard one of the Sisters cry. Ash glanced up in surprise. Violet had her hands clasped together and she was staring at Torrent with excited eyes. "Try to take it easy on him, will you, Daisy?"

The blonde shook her head, although she had a smile on her face. "No can do, Violet. This is going to be our battle of the week. Then we can just chill and let Misty do the battles. Hey, Ash, get ready!"

Ash frowned, but a wide grin stretched across his face when Daisy released an absolutely massive Gyarados. The Sisters seemed gleeful at seeing the monster, but he noticed that Misty's face was pale.

It crashed into the water and roared. Torrent rumbled back. Both he and Ash were very, very happy with this occurrence. This would be a battle worth returning for.

The two titans glared at each other for a moment before Daisy made the first move. "Gyarados, Hyper Beam!"

Gyarados roared as it burst up from the water, sending massive waves rolling through the pool. Particles of white-red energy began to collect in its mouth and slowly coalesced into a small sphere of dense energy. Ash grinned. This was a good way to start off the battle.

"Dragon Pulse!" He cried. Ash would have told Torrent to get under the water, but he wanted his friend able to hear his commands for this part of the battle.

As the powerful blast of energy from the Hyper Beam shot towards him with incredible accuracy, Torrent charged up a Dragon Pulse and shot the sphere of iridescent green energy straight into it.

Ash turned away as an immense explosion occurred. The massive release of energy vaporized a good bit of the water around the collision. Gyarados roared in response to one of Daisy's commands, which he couldn't hear, and suddenly exploded through the smoke. Its cavernous maw gaped as it tore through the water at an incredible speed.

"Agility." He grinned. Torrent was normally forced to be a tank and take most hits. But in the water he could take full advantage of his speed. "Get under and make a whirlpool."

Torrent rumbled as he darted out of the way of Gyarados' jaws and shot a Dragon Pulse at the rampaging sea serpent for good measure. Gyarados roared and snapped its fangs furiously, but Torrent dived deep into the water. Ash guessed that the gigantic pool went at least sixty feet down. It had to for Gyarados to move very well.

"Hyper Beam! Hit it with Dragon Rage when it comes up." The Sister shouted with a dramatic flourish of her arms. Gyarados roared and thrashed in the water, kicking up huge waves. It shot a huge stream of red-orange energy into the pool, causing a huge cloud of steam to explode upwards and cover the entire stadium in a shroud of boiled water.

Ash just crossed his arms and smiled. The water was beginning to tremble and surge around Torrent, who he could barely see at the very bottom of the pool. His pale blue scales kept Gyarados from immediately identifying him. It was temporarily weakened and blinded from the Hyper Beam and the steam it had produced, which was further distracting the great leviathan.

Torrent was capable of forming vast whirlpools with a mere yawn, a reflection of his immense power. Normally it was used to funnel prey down to a kingdra after it had awoken, but Torrent was using a far more powerful variant.

Twister was a powerful move, as any trainer that had met Torrent's Ice Storm could attest. On land it was capable of creating large tornadoes from the likes of Plume, let alone Torrent. Under the waves it was capable of forming a vast cyclone or whirlpool. And in conjunction with another move Torrent was an expert with, Gyarados would have no chance of escape.

Daisy had noticed the water as well. "Gyarados, get down there. Find it and use Outrage."

Gyarados gave a furious roar before diving under the water. Its motions held no grace or fluidity. They were raw power that forced through the waves, not like Torrent. He moved with them or manipulated them to move him.

Ash frowned at the mention of Outrage. That would be devastating if it hit Torrent. Outrage focused the energy within a pokemon into pure fury and caused it go on a rampage. That in itself would be bad, since Gyarados were at their most powerful when drowned in fury, but Outrage utilized draconic energy to spark the rampage. Torrent would take one or two hits at the max.

But he was confident as he watched the water slowly churn. As Gyarados dived down to aimlessly search for the camouflaged Torrent, it began to twist faster and faster. What parts of the pool he could make out through the veil of slowly dispersing steam were starting to leap up and down, commanded by Torrent's power.

He was halfway surprised that Gyarados still wasn't able to find Torrent. It had evolved to be the apex predator of the ocean. Gyarados should have been able to pick past Torrent's camouflage quite easily. The sea serpents were colorblind, which made them more effective at looking past camouflage and seeing the definition of their prey.

Perhaps he shouldn't have been so surprised. The steam couldn't have been good for Gyarados' eyes and there were plenty of bubbles to obscure Torrent's position. But soon that wouldn't matter. Torrent was following his instructions quite well.

Ash grinned when the pool seemed to implode. Torrent had created a vast whirlpool after he'd finally focused enough of his power. It engulfed most of the pool until the tiny island and strips of land broke it, but that was still more than enough to engulf Gyarados. He could see the massive serpent thrashing wildly and belching huge blasts of flame and energy as it was sucked into the whirlpool.

When Gyarados began to regain control of its body, Torrent did exactly what Ash expected him to. Gyarados was just too strong to be swept away by the whirlpool's currents for long, so they had to have an exit strategy.

Gyarados' eyes began to grow red as it focused its energy into Outrage, which would magnify its strength tenfold for a brief period of time. Fortunately, Ash and Torrent wouldn't have to see the devastation the sea serpent would wreck.

Torrent, now visible only as a dark figure beneath millions of gallons of water, blasted out an immense stream of ice and froze the entire whirlpool in the span of a few seconds, an act which displayed his mastery of the technique. Sneasel hopped up and down and peered down at the new glacier with excitement, awed at the power behind the Blizzard.

The trainer had a wide grin on his face as about half of the pool became nothing but ice. Gyarados roared furiously and did its best to destroy the ice, but it was just too thick. A good ten feet of Gyarados' massive form was trapped beneath the ice, so it wasn't able to effectively use its immense physical strength.

Still, it would break out in a few seconds. Its eyes were pulsing with red energy as it pushed itself harder and harder. He glanced up and noted that Daisy seemed flummoxed. She had no idea what to do. Neither did any of the other Sisters.

When she noticed him looking, she scowled. It was an unexpected expression on her ordinarily smiling face. Daisy clenched her fists. "Gyarados, Iron Head on the ice, Flamethrower and Hyper Beam straight down."

Ash frowned. Torrent could handle any of the attacks easily, but he'd best get out of the way before the Hyper Beam. At least he'd have the warning of Flamethrower. His friend was probably preparing something regardless.

His eyes widened when he realized that Gyarados' crest was glowing a bright white, even as Outrage was still in effect. Gyarados gave out a loud, threatening roar before it crashed its head into the ice. Huge cracks spread throughout the glacier that Torrent created, but that was just to give Gyarados more room.

It suddenly reared its great head back and loosed an immense stream of intense blue flame at the very bottom of the frozen whirlpool. Vast amounts of steam sizzled upwards as the ice melted, revealing that the very bottom of the pool hadn't been frozen.

Ash barely had time to notice that Torrent wasn't at the exposed area of the pool before Gyarados shot a massive hyper beam with pinpoint accuracy. He watched as the beam evaporated a large amount of the water that wasn't frozen, an act that made him grin.

Daisy had a grimace on her face as the center of the frozen whirlpool collapsed into the void Gyarados had created. Steam billowed upward and obscured the scene, but Ash winced as he heard dozens of tons of ice collapsing down. The ice had already been weak since water expanded when it turned into ice – the pool was overflowing and the small island had been completely covered – so the cracks had completely collapsed.

Gyarados blasted a vast stream of flames into the sky as it roared and shook with agony. Its massive plates of armor kept any real damage from occurring, but the immense pressure of so much ice crushing down on it had to have hurt.

"Gyarados!" The Sisters cried. Even Misty, despite her evident fear of the sea serpent, seemed to be almost in tears. Ash winced along with them. Daisy recovered first. "Melt it off of you!"

The sea serpent twisted its great body around and shot more blue flame at the ice. It melted straight through, giving Gyarados a few moments to try to escape before the ice above crashed down.

Before Gyarados could work on wrenching its body out, Torrent made his appearance. Ash supposed that he had been lurking beneath the ice and utilizing tiny explosions from Dragon Pulse to melt through the frozen water.

He didn't appear physically. Torrent made his presence known, however, by blasting Gyardos with a Dragon Pulse so powerful that it sent the massive sea serpent flying out of its icy prison. Gyarados slammed into the collapsing ice on the other side of the frozen whirlpool, cracking the thick wall.

"Dragon Rage!" Daisy screamed. Gyarados quickly belched a ball of ethereal blue and black fire towards the hole Torrent was appearing out of.

"Dragon Pulse." Ash commanded. Torrent rapidly fired a tiny, intense Dragon Pulse straight into the ball of fire. As expected, the attacks exploded violently in a huge release of energy. A large hole in the ice melted where they met, but Gyarados wasn't done.

Daisy looked desperate. "Hyper Beam!"

Ash cocked his eye. She was very reliant on the move, although she'd demonstrated good tactics in other ways. Perhaps she really was that desperate. Gyarados was badly weakened, after all. It wasn't thinking clearly.

"Dragon Pulse." He shouted. Ash idly realized that he should step up Torrent's training when they got to a sufficiently secluded area. His friend needed more variation. Draco Meteor would be a very helpful move once they finished learning it, but he might buy Torrent a few TMs whenever he hit Celadon next.

Both attacks collided again, but this time Gyarados was left weakened. Torrent launched himself through the smoke left over from the explosion and charged up a massive sphere of swirling draconic energy. Ash grinned when the Dragon Pulse that was larger than Torrent slammed into Gyarados and exploded right in its face.

The massive explosion caused the weakened Gyarados to roar as it fell down the rough, icy walls of the whirlpool. It was too large to fall through the hole it had made earlier, so it was in a loose, uncomfortable looking coil. Gyarados was still too weak to fight back.

"Dragon Pulse on the wall." Ash ordered. It was time to finish this battle. He was lucky Torrent had been lucky and skilled enough to avoid Gyarados' attacks. Even one hit would be devastating thanks to the immense sea serpent's sheer power.

Torrent rumbled his understanding before he shot a tiny, powerful Dragon Pulse into the whirlpool. The glacier groaned before huge chunks of ice fell and landed on top of Gyarados, burying the great serpent.

Before any more could fall, a thin red beam of light struck Gyarados and recalled it into its pokeball. Ash glanced up and saw that Daisy was staring at him in disbelief. A few moments later his box lowered to the ground.

"Here's your –" Misty shook her head and put the Cascade Badge away. "Sorry, I'm not used to people coming here for just a battle. Follow me. My Sisters probably want to talk to you. It's not just any day that someone manages to take out Gyarados." She commented drily.

Ash smiled and waved at Torrent. His friend quickly levitated over and took his spot next to Ash. Sneasel hissed excitedly at him from Ash's shoulder, which elicited an amused rumble from Torrent.

"You were amazing, Torrent." He grinned. Ash patted Torrent's hard scales. Torrent rumbled and dipped his head to Ash. "Remind me to get you some TMs in Celadon, alright?"

Torrent seemed to laugh before he straightened up and adopted his normal imperious expression. Ash glanced up and noticed that the Sisters were coming over.

"You just beat Gyarados." Lily said dumbly, idly brushing a strand of wet hair out of her face. "Without using an electric-type."

Ash nodded. That was established.

"Wow." Violet drawled. Her expression seemed locked into surprise. She snapped out of it when she saw Torrent and adopted a cheerful smile. "Your Kingdra is amazing! And," she peered at him for a moment, "he's so pretty! You must take really good care of him."

Torrent raised his head, apparently pleased at the attention. Ash just shook his head and laughed at his friend's preening. "I try. He does most of the work."

Violet smiled widely and exposed her glistening white teeth. "Well, that just means he's really smart! Can I touch you?" She directed to Torrent. He cocked his head for a few seconds before finally giving the teenager a nod. Violet immediately started patting him and checking his scales.

"That was some battle." Daisy said dazedly. "You must train a lot. I guess the rumors about you are true."

Ash blinked. "There are rumors?"

Daisy laughed. "Of course. You think a rookie trainer sweeping the League doesn't attract attention? Helping Lance at the Sevii Islands and Viridian just made it bigger. Even Sabrina seemed impressed by you." She said sadly. Ash realized that Sabrina must still be in her coma. He felt a little guilty about forgetting about her and Will.

"The Sevii Islands were supposed to be confidential." He said suspiciously.

"We're gym leaders!" Lily chimed in. "Nothing's confidential to us!"

Ash sighed. That meant he'd have a lot to talk about with Surge. The Vermillion Leader was notorious for his campaigns against Team Rocket. They had been hunted down mercilessly in his territory, although that might change now that the Creature was being put into active use. Surge would probably be very interested in his experiences.

"Sorry about holding you up." Daisy said quickly as she looked at her watch. "Lily, Violet, Misty, we've got to hurry up! The gym closes soon and we have a lot to get done. It's a good thing we decided to not schedule a show today."

"Do you want me to help?" Ash asked as he glanced over the vast field of ice Torrent had created. He knew that it would be a lot of work to get done. It wasn't like he had anything better to do.

Daisy shook her head. "No thanks. Misty, get Gy. We're going to need a lot of fire."

Misty nodded. She glanced over at Ash. "See you."

Ash nodded back before she ran off. The other Sisters stepped away from Torrent. He unclipped Torrent's pokeball and recalled his friend before beginning his trek away from the gym.

Before he could leave, he heard one of the Sisters call back his name. Ash paused and glanced back, wondering what they wanted.

"Make sure to come back here in a few years!" Lily called out before breaking into a fit of giggles with her sisters. "We want a rematch."

Ash nodded before he turned away to hide his blush. He walked out of the gym rather quickly after that.

XX

The next day, Ash left for Vermillion. Cerulean was nice and he wouldn't have minded sticking around a few more days, but there was honestly nothing productive he could do. He didn't need to watch the Sisters' show or relax in the fields or by a river, he needed to train and get stronger.

It would take him a little bit more than a week to reach Vermillion. Last time had taken around two weeks, but that was because he and the others had been plagued by massive storms and an assortment of bad weather. The route was normally quite easy, so hopefully his luck would hold out.

Ash glanced at the road that would take him past Saffron and south to Vermillion. He could just stop in Saffron, but there would be no point. The city didn't hold much appeal to him and he wouldn't have the incentive of battling Sabrina again. That would have to wait.

He shrugged and released Plume. She nipped his hat and received a light stroke before she burst into the air. Ash turned away from the dust cloud, but Sneasel wasn't as lucky. The dark-type coughed and hissed angrily as he breathed in a lungful of dirt.

The trainer snorted in amusement before he released Nidoking. His friend roared and crushed his claws together when he materialized. That was another reason Ash preferred to be travelling, or at least away from cities. Any of his friends larger than Dazed or Tangrowth couldn't be released in public, and even they were frowned upon. Only something around Sneasel's size could go around in public without attracting too much attention.

"Hey, buddy." He grinned as he patted his friend's shoulder. Nidoking grunted back happily and stamped the ground. Ash nearly lost his footing as a tremor swept through the earth, but just shook his head. "Very funny." Judging from his snicker, Sneasel agreed. "We're heading to Vermillion."

Nidoking's ears perked up. Ash grinned. His friend had liked Vermillion. Not the city itself, but the areas around it were largely massive, flat plains dotted with small pools of water. In other words, the nidoran family's ideal habitat. Vermillion being the place where he had evolved into a nidorino hadn't hurt his opinion of it either.

Ash made a mental note to stay away from the port. He'd mostly gotten over his trepidation of the ocean, but he wasn't sure if it would ever fade completely. But the waters of Vermillion would never be something he enjoyed.

"Well, it's a long journey." Ash said as he glanced at the long, straight road. He adjusted his pack to be more comfortable. "Let's get going."

XX

That night was a comfortable one. It was the first day of October, and the harsh heat of summer had been fading for weeks now. But it wasn't too cold to be annoying or uncomfortable. Right now it was the perfect mix of waning summer and waxing autumn.

But it also heralded a new part of Sneasel's training. He was doing quite well and rapidly growing, but it was time for him to begin learning from his teammates. Sneasel needed something to push him harder and show him what a real battle was like.

It was a shame that he didn't have any other light, speedy pokemon. The rest of his friends were bulky and powerful, built for taking hits and dealing out even more damage or aerial fighters. He couldn't just have Sneasel learn from an experienced pokemon of the same style.

So it seemed that Sneasel needed to learn the mentality behind fighting. He was too quick to fall into a blood rage at the moment. Sneasel didn't have proper control over his emotions and instincts, which could be very, very bad in a real battle.

Ash would speak to Nidoking and Torrent about training Sneasel in Ice Beam and Blizzard, respectively. He wasn't quite strong enough to use the moves yet, but the little dark-type wasn't too far off. Sneasel was almost a month old, so he was going to start maturing rapidly. Right now he was still a bit underdeveloped.

"Sneasel." He called out, breaking the comfortable silence that pervaded the small camp. Sneasel instantly stopped playing his game with Infernus and looked over with wide eyes. Infernus's eyes glinted amusedly before he picked Sneasel up by the scruff of his neck and threw him into a tree. Plume squawked irritably and sent them both a death glare as she was awoken from her slumber.

Sneasel skittered over to Ash and hissed at Infernus. The fire-type snorted smoke and spat a thin tongue of flame at Sneasel. The ice-type growled and leapt out of the way, allowing it to crackle into nothing.

"Enough." Ash said calmly. Both of his friends instantly stopped their mock battle and glanced over at him. "Sneasel, you're starting your real training tonight. Tangrowth, give him everything you've got with your vines. Don't knock him out, but don't give him any respite."

Tangrowth gurgled and extended a dozen of his innumerable vines. He stood up on his stubby feet and stared at Sneasel, who had scrambled away from Ash and into a relatively empty part of the camp. Sneasel hissed at his primary caretaker and unsheathed his massive, hooked claws. Both were instantly encrusted in a thick crust of ice that released tendrils of frosty air.

Sneasel suddenly vanished into a blur. A moment later he appeared in front of Tangrowth and slashed at his guardian without remorse or hesitation, but Tangrowth reacted with lightning quick reflexes and caught Sneasel's thin, wiry arms with two of his smaller vines.

The dark-type hissed in confusion as he was suddenly hurled about twenty feet back into a large tree. Ash smiled as Tangrowth gurgled apologetically before he sent four vines lashing towards Sneasel. He was pleasantly surprised that Tangrowth wasn't holding back. While he didn't like pitting the two against each other, this training method ensured two things.

One, the camp and surrounding area wasn't destroyed by Infernus, Nidoking, or Torrent. He hated ruining the environment of local pokemon, although it would heal rather quickly. Just because trees and other vegetation had evolved to recover fast to survive pokemon attacks didn't mean that they should have to.

Two, it would show Sneasel that Tangrowth wasn't as weak as he seemed to think. Ash had noticed Sneasel taking advantage of Tangrowth much more in the week before they reached Cerulean. He would take a large portion of Tangrowth's food, blow large blasts of icy air into Tangrowth and use Quick Attack to escape, and pull other pranks.

Ash had let it slide for then aside from a few rebukes. Sneasel listened to him on many things, but it wouldn't do any good in this instance. Tangrowth seemed too easy a target and Sneasel's instincts demanded that he take advantage of him. As a species, sneasel respected strength and cunning. Tangrowth wasn't exactly cunning outside of battle, but strength was something he had plenty of.

He didn't bother calling out commands as Sneasel vanished into the darkness and appeared behind Tangrowth, although the dark-type found several powerful vines waiting for him. Ash trained Sneasel to listen to his commands and understand the implied message behind them in the battles with other trainers. This training was meant to teach Sneasel how to react to different situations and improve his physical abilities…along with teaching him a lesson, of course.

Sneasel hissed as the vines holding him began to glow a soft green. His muscles slackened before Tangrowth took pity on the ice-type and gently dropped him to the ground in front of him. Tangrowth's mercy was repaid by Sneasel leaping at him with bared fangs and ice encrusted claws.

Ash rolled his eyes as Tangrowth reflexively wrapped Sneasel's body so tightly that the angry dark-type couldn't move a muscle before he lightly shook his body and sent a tiny burst of stun spore directly into Sneasel's face.

He rooted around in his bag for one of his few Paralyze Heals and walked over to Sneasel, who Tangrowth was cradling in several of his vines. The dark-type was staring blankly into space thanks to his temporary paralysis.

Stun Spore, like most attacks or moves that caused paralysis, worked by delivering neurotoxins into the system of whatever breathed them in. The neurotoxins temporarily froze the nervous and chemical pathways required for muscle movement, although it would wear off after a few hours. Humans affected by it could remain paralyzed for around a day. They just weren't as durable as pokemon.

Sneasel was perfectly still as Ash poured the modified potion into his mouth. It was chock full of chemicals that would remove the inhibitors introduced by the Stun Spore. In just a minute or so Sneasel would be up and running.

"You can put him down now, Tangrowth." He said quietly. Tangrowth gurgled and gently laid Sneasel onto the soft ground. Ash glanced over and saw that his saucer-like eyes were despondent. "It's alright, buddy. He'll be fine. It was just an accident."

Tangrowth gurgled and flailed his arms around guiltily. Ash sighed and walked next to his friend. The grass-type made another odd noise. His vines were twitching as a result of his emotional distress. This was the first time Tangrowth had ever really hurt Sneasel in their training sessions, so Ash could understand why he was upset. His friend didn't exactly think through situations.

"Look, he's fine." Ash pointed at Sneasel as he began to twitch. Tangrowth immediately calmed, although his vines still twitched every now and then. "I can let someone else train Sneasel for now, alright?"

His friend shook his head as Sneasel tiredly pulled himself. Ash smiled and walked back to his previous position by Nidoking. The large poison-type was watching the situation in amusement. "Just keep at it. Make sure to be a bit more careful with effects, though. I only have so many potions."

Tangrowth gurgled and gave Sneasel another minute to recuperate before he began his assault anew. The dark-type hissed as he started the dance all over again.

Ash watched with a small smile on his face. Sneasel was certainly more cautious now. Perhaps he'd managed to learn his lesson after all. At least he'd respect Tangrowth more, especially when the grass-type was so gentle with him.

XX

Vermillion was a nice city, Ash decided as he stepped through the large gates and glanced around. It had a warm, sunny atmosphere even as fall dawned and the people were friendly. He had spent most of his time running around the countryside last time he'd been here, so he never really got a chance to appreciate the city itself.

He even liked the fresh, salty sea air. It didn't have the most pleasant of memories attached to its familiar scent, but he could overlook that, just as he overlooked the massive ships docked in the harbor that he could see from here.

As he idly made his way to the Pokemon Center, Ash considered who he would use to battle Surge. It would be a nice bit of nostalgia to use Nidoking, but that wouldn't really be fair. He wanted a real battle out of Surge, one that wasn't decided upon a very lucky evolution or a type advantage.

Torrent had battled the Sisters, so he was out. Besides, Ash didn't want to accidentally destroy Surge's gym. Dazed would probably have a fun time, so she was a possibility. He hadn't gotten to use her in a serious battle for a while now, not since he battled Giovanni.

Ash ignored the involuntarily lash of fury that sparked through his mind and focused on the situation at hand.

Infernus would have a good battle as well. Ash wasn't able to use him as often as he liked in the wilderness thanks to the sheer destruction Infernus tended to bring with him, and he could only imagine how fierce a battle it would be if he fought Surge and his Raichu with Infernus.

Bruiser would be torn apart by Surge. Physical based fighters didn't have a good time with electric-types, no matter how tough they were. Electricity had too strong of an effect on their bodies unless they had a thick hide to disperse the shock. Unfortunately, Bruiser failed in that requirement. He had tough skin, but it wouldn't be able to shrug off most elemental attacks until he evolved into a machamp.

Plume was obviously out.

Tangrowth was another possibility. He'd had more opportunity to fight than the others since he tended to be much cleaner in his battles, but Ash suspected that he'd do quite well against Surge. His shell of vines would weaken the electricity blasts to near useless levels and his rubbery body wouldn't conduct the electricity well in the first place.

Perhaps he'd get Surge to adjust his normally rigid rules. It wasn't as though this were an official match, after all. And if Surge was really as impressed by him as Daisy seemed to imply he would be sure to bend that much.

Ash was snapped out of his thoughts when he found himself staring at the Pokemon Center. It was practically bursting with trainers, he could tell. This was about the time of year when most trainers felt that they were ready to begin challenging the serious gyms.

Most would fail, of course. Surge would be using his team to its full potential. Ash knew that he and his friends had gotten a lucky break with the gym leader. Nidoking had evolved during that battle, which essentially gave him a clean slate against the poisoned Raichu. Additionally, Ash suspected that Surge hadn't really tried his hardest against the rookie trainers. While it was still an impressive feat to defeat Surge at that stage, Ash knew that this would be a real battle.

Amelia had fought Raichu when it was still weakened from his own and managed to circumvent its formidable power through status conditions, if Ash remembered correctly. Even then it had been close thanks to Raichu's power.

Jonathan didn't even have to battle Raichu. He'd gotten to battle a rather formidable Pikachu in its stead.

In other words, they hadn't gotten a real battle out of Surge. Ash wanted to fix that. Surge's reputation as a harsh and brutal gym leader was surpassed only by Giovanni's. He was ready to face that gym leader fairly, without any lucky evolutions.

Ash stepped into the Pokemon Center. The moment he was done he would head over to the gym. He'd been there enough that he could locate it in his sleep.

There was a long line for the front desk, but it moved quickly. Trainers just got a room key or gave Nurse Joy their pokeball before walking off. Most just went over to the TV area.

He did notice that there weren't any extensively injured pokemon outside of their ball, unlike when he'd been here last. It looked like Surge was being much more careful now that the League had put his leash back on. Without the St. Anne tickets at stake he couldn't be as brutal as he would have liked.

"How can I help you?" Nurse Joy asked cheerily. Ash snapped out of his thoughts and focused on the nurse.

"A room key, please." He requested. Nurse Joy smiled and handed one over. Ash nodded his thanks and walked off, although he went to the TV area to check everything out. He needed to keep up with the news now that the war with Team Rocket was picking up.

He didn't take a seat. It would be pointless. Ash was just going to move on anyways. Instead he walked up just a bit behind the rest of the twenty or so trainers that were watching

"…League casualties continue to rise." A grim man droned on. "In the most recent raids, more than twenty Rangers were killed or injured. Sixty three Rockets have been taken into custody, however, and more were injured or killed in the battle. The League continues to be silent on their attempts to locate the strange creature that was responsible for the astounding defeat of Champion Lance, Elite Four Lorelei and Agatha, and dozens of highly trained League personnel."

The trainers around him grumbled in discontent. "How's the League supposed to fight Team Rocket when their best got beat by one pokemon?" He heard one mutter. Ash scowled. They weren't helping the situation by being afraid and meek.

Ash didn't stay to listen to their fearful mutterings. He just clenched his fists and walked out of the Pokemon Center. Sneasel hissed lightly and peered at him worriedly. The trainer just put on a slight smile and scratched underneath Sneasel's feather. That calmed him down and kept him from worrying about Ash.

What he needed was a good battle. Ash just needed to get his mind off of Team Rocket. The League would take care of everything. Lance wouldn't rest until he found a way to defeat the Creature and destroy Team Rocket for good.

XX

"I remember you." One of Surge's gym trainers said with a scowl. The large, burly man crossed his arms and glared down at Ash. He stared back. After meeting Surge, Lance, and Bruno this man's physical power didn't intimidate him. "You're that runt who got lucky and beat Surge. Here for a rematch, kid?"

"I am." He replied coolly. Sneasel hissed at the gym trainer, who still had a scowl on his face.

"Surge has a challenger right now, but head on in." The gym trainer grunted. He pulled open the door and followed Ash in. "Roxie, make sure no one else gets in. We don't need the League on our backs about someone getting hurt."

The female gym trainer nodded and silently crossed her arms. She glared out at the passerby, who either seemed used to it or sent nervous glances her way. Ash wondered just how strong the gym trainers were. Surge wouldn't accept anyone that was weak and Ash knew that the gym trainers would have been instrumental in driving Team Rocket from Vermillion's territory.

He smiled as he entered the gym. It was just as he remembered it, although it was a bit brighter than last time. The gym was still plain and seemed more like a warehouse than an important location.

Surge was standing on one end of the large, plain battlefield with a grin on his face. The challenger was a tall, muscular teenager who wore a look of horror on his face as his Flareon was being torn apart by Raichu.

"I'm bored." Surge announced. Arcs of electricity shot out of Raichu's electric sacs as it heard the gym leader speak. "Blast him."

Raichu had a mean grin on its small face as it swished its tail back and forth. Its body was enveloped in a massive shell of electricity before a massive bolt blasted out and slammed into Flareon. The fire-type collapsed as immense amounts of electricity wracked its body.

Before it could properly faint, the trainer returned Flareon and stared at the pokeball despondently. "You did your best, Flareon. Thanks."

"Get out of here and come back when you're actually strong." Surge barked. The trainer glared up at the gym leader before storming out, which elicited a laugh from the giant of a man. "Alright, next challenger!" He shouted before he glanced over and saw Ash. Surge's eyes widened and he grinned widely. "Alright! Look who it is. Here for a rematch, runt?"

Ash grinned back. Sneasel hissed and unsheathed his claws threatening, although Raichu just sent a tiny bolt of electricity at him that threw him off Ash's shoulder. "Definitely. This time it'll be a real battle."

"Good." Surge said. Battle burned in his eyes. "This isn't an official match. You want one-on-one again? Raichu won't be easy on you this time."

"Three-on-three." Ash corrected. Surge's smile grew wider and Ash reached for his first pokeball. "I've got a few of my friends that haven't had a real battle in a while."

Surge crossed his arms. "I'll be glad to give them one. Ready to lose, runt? You won't be so lucky this time."

"We'll see." Ash replied. He tapped the pokeball's release button. A moment later Tangrowth appeared on the battlefield. His friend gurgled happily and extended one vine to poke Ash on the forehead before he focused on Raichu, whose cheeks were sparking.

"Tangrowth, huh?" Surge muttered. "Raichu, Thunder Wave, then use Shock Blast."

Ash just smiled as Raichu shot the thin blue bolts of electricity. Tangrowth knew what to do. His friend gurgled as the tip of his arms began to glow brightly with spheres of bright white light. The grass-type swept them both upward, causing a wall of earth to burst out of the ground and block the Thunder Wave.

The wall also managed to catch an immense blast of electricity from Raichu that was so powerful it caused the earth wall to explode. Ash was rather glad that Tangrowth had put up the wall. That would have been devastating if it hit.

"Drain it." Ash commanded. Tangrowth instantly sent dozens of his vines lashing from his body toward Raichu. They completely entangled the electric-type, but Raichu simply closed his eyes and released another blast of electricity.

Ash frowned when he saw the vines wrapped around Raichu baked to a crisp from the sheer amount of energy that had flowed through them. Tangrowth couldn't just warp Raichu up and suck all of his energy out. They would have to be more creative.

"Effect Spores." He commanded. Tangrowth quickly shook his body to release an immense cloud of stun spore and sleep powder. It quickly billowed all over the field. Raichu shot a bolt of electricity at Tangrowth, but it barely made his friend stumble back. "Ancient Power, Ingrain."

Tangrowth's gurgle was muffled as he followed Ash's commands. He created several walls of earth that would protect him from the inferno that would result from the effect spores and also rooted himself to the ground.

Ash had crippled Raichu with the Effect Spores that pervaded the air. Aside from the obvious problems it would face, it wouldn't be able to use electrical attacks for fear of causing the spores to combust. While that would normally be crippling for Tangrowth, the shelter he had built would protect him from the majority of the inferno.

"Clever." Surge growled. Raichu bared its fangs as the stun spores and sleep powder clouds slowly grew nearer. "Ground Flare."

Raichu seemed to grin madly as it suddenly moved in a blur. Ash frowned when it suddenly dug a large hole in the ground, aided by what little practice it had with the move. The earth seemed to melt around Riachu as it leapt into the hole.

Ash sighed when he saw Raichu use Discharge. Dozens of bolts of electricity exploded from Raichu's pit, which arced out and turned the air into a raging fireball. Raichu stayed in the relative safe zone, mostly safe from the immense heat caused by the ignition.

He was silent until the last embers had burned out. Ash was rather thankful for the psychic barriers in the gym. That would have been a disaster otherwise.

"Tangrowth, get out." He ordered. Tangrowth quickly lowered the earthen walls, emerging from his shelter at the same time Raichu hopped out of its small hole. "Sludge Bomb and hit it with Power Whip. Wrap it up with your other vines."

"Focus Blast." Surge snapped as Raichu dodged the massive wave of sludge. As dozens of vines lashed towards its small form, Raichu formed a small blue ball of energy between its hands and threw it at the mass of vines.

Tangrowth reflexively scattered his vines to minimize his loss, but made sure to use Ancient Power in order to erect a wall of earth and stone that blocked Focus Blast. Although the ball of energy completely destroyed the wall, leaving it nothing but dust, it served its purpose. A good quarter of Tangrowth's vines had been severed or destroyed by the release of energy.

"Volt Shield." Surge grinned. Raichu, who didn't seem to be affected at all by the powerful attacks it had been blasting for the last minute or so, bared its fangs and collapsed to all fours. It raised its long, whip-like tail as high as it could to gather electricity, which caused it to shine brightly. Raichu's electrical sacs sparked erratically as arcs of lightning jumped all over its body.

Just as some of Tangrowth's vines began to close in, the arcs of lightning on its body exploded outward, although they were maintained in a sort of aura. Raichu was completely still as the shell of lightning burnt all of Tangrowth's vines to a crisp.

Ash sighed again. So long as that Volt Shield – a rather impressive design, although Ash doubted that many electric-types had the sheer power to maintain it effectively – was up Tangrowth's vines were useless. It was time to get serious.

"Tangrowth, give him everything you've got." Ash said with a wild grin. Tangrowth was powerful when he battled normally, but Ash had trained Tangrowth to battle seriously. He wouldn't be limited to a single strategy right now.

Surge blinked in surprise as Tangrowth fired off another Sludge Bomb, which Raichu was forced to dodge. The Volt Shield would just burn some of the sludge and change it into a very toxic gas while the rest would land on Raichu and finish him off.

Ash had to admit that he was impressed that Raichu was actually able to keep the Volt Shield up as it moved. It looked very draining. If it weren't for the vines Tangrowth had extended, Ash had no doubt that Surge would go on the offense.

Raichu's cheeks sparked as it sent another powerful bolt of electricity at Tangrowth, although it simply knocked his friend back. Tangrowth wouldn't be knocked over now. He was anchored to the ground with his vines.

He smiled as Tangrowth used both of his arms to enhance his Ancient Power. Huge chunks of earth were gouged from the floor and hurled at Raichu, who was barely able to leap out of the way. Both were destroyed by errant bolts of electricity, although they simply splintered into smaller chunks.

Volt Shield was beginning to fail. Instead of the steady current arcing through the air, the electricity began to fizzle. It was still too powerful for Ash to risk Tangrowth's vines, but it was a start.

"Sludge Bomb, then Ancient Power. Keep it up!" Ash called. Tangrowth gurgled and renewed his assault. He grinned when a chunk of earth finally slammed into Raichu, throwing it off guard and ending its Volt Shield. "Power Whip and Mega Drain!"

Even as Tangrowth shot dozens of vines toward Raichu, the electric-type regained its footing and glared heatedly. Surge hadn't given it any commands since there wasn't anything to do but weather the assault. Ash got the feeling that Raichu was based purely around power. It was fast enough, but it didn't seem to have any evasive ability.

"Lightning Bolt!" Surge roared. He had a look of both surprise and desperation on his face. Surprise because Tangrowth was winning, and desperation because, again, Tangrowth was winning.

Ash frowned. Lightning Bolt? He didn't have a good feeling about that. "Ancient Power!"

Tangrowth swept his rubbery arm upward and created an earthen wall even as his vines lashed at Raichu's exhausted form. But it seemed that Raichu wasn't too tired for one last, desperate display of incredible power.

The smell of ozone that pervaded the air grew even stronger in his nostrils as Raichu charged up an immense amount of energy. Ash could barely see Raichu behind the glow released from its body, but he could hear its furious growl when it finally released the Lightning Bolt.

It was amongst the most powerful attacks Ash had ever seen. The Lightning Bolt incinerated every one of Tangrowth's vines that it hit and plowed straight through the wall of earth before hitting Tangrowth. Ash had to turn away as the light grew too intense and huge chunks of the wall exploded everywhere.

He worriedly glanced back with Sneasel and saw that Tangrowth was lying unconscious on the ground, despite his healthy state before. Ash blinked in awe and looked that Raichu was unconscious as well. Tangrowth had managed to knock him out with a few powerful lashes of his vines before he was hit with the Lightning Bolt.

"Looks like it's a tie. That Tangrowth of yours is impressive, but it can't take that kind of power!" Surge laughed as he recalled Raichu's smoking form.

"What was that?" Ash questioned in awe as he returned Tangrowth. That was by far the most powerful electrical attack he had ever seen. Most electric attacks would have done some damage to the earthen wall thanks to the concussive force behind them, but that had blasted through the barrier as though it were nothing.

"Lightning Bolt." Surge grinned. "It's an electric-type variation on Hyper Beam. We spent the last year perfecting it. You're the first challenger I've had to use it on."

Ash supposed he should be proud that he was the first one to push Surge that far. But he was still in too much of a daze to really feel it. All he knew was that if he ever needed help with an electric-type Surge would be the very first person to go to.

He released Dazed. She looked out at the completely destroyed battlefield with a rather bored expression. Ash figured Dazed had gotten used to seeing the sheer amount of destruction that tended to accompany their serious battles.

Surge scratched his chin and examined Dazed thoughtfully. Ash knew that most gyms that focused on elemental and nonphysical attacks tended to despise psychics. Their shields were capable of absorbing vast amounts of energy before breaking, which was always a pain.

"Haven't really used this guy, but this should be fun." Surge shrugged. He casually sent out a large, very powerful looking Jolteon. It examined its surroundings and seemed to smile before tensing up and staring at Dazed. "Jolteon, start this off with Thunderclap. Psychic-Strat. 1."

"Dazed, you know what to do." Ash growled as Jolteon's body began sparking. "Finish this quickly."

His friend's eyes flashed as she sent a massive wave of force blasting toward Jolteon, who nimbly leapt out of the way. When it recovered it vanished in a blur, although the electricity that engulfed its large body trailed behind it in a massive stream of lightning.

Dazed barely managed to teleport out of the way before Jolteon came to a stop right in front of Ash. Thunder rolled through the air and shook the ground as Jolteon stopped. The electric-type snarled and shook its body. Thin arcs of electricity shot out and covered the entire battlefield, although Dazed easily blocked the weak bolts.

"Adjust to S2." Surge called out. Ash assumed it was to compensate for Dazed's teleportation. It wasn't common to see a hypno with teleport.

Jolteon suddenly flashed into nothingness before a dozen ethereal clones of it appeared. Each flickered and locked onto Dazed. Ash watched with narrowed eyes as Jolteon and its illusory doubles used the same Thunderclap technique. Identical trails of lightning blasted through the battlefield as Jolteon appeared right in front of Dazed, although she managed to hurl it back with a wave of psychic force before she teleported.

Thunderclap was a brilliant technique. Many pokemon were sensitive to the bright flash of light and the loud sound. Psychics were particularly vulnerable. Their brains were large and caused them to be extremely sensitive to external stimuli thanks to their keen senses. A technique like Thunderclap would practically overload them for a few seconds if they weren't prepared.

Dazed appeared in front of Ash. She immediately erected a large shield of bright blue psychic energy. It was right in time, as well. Jolteon had shot dozens of sharp, yellow needles made out of its fur. They actually managed to penetrate, although the quills were stuck in the shield. His friend managed to keep it up.

"Multi Ball, then Psychic." He said quietly. Dazed dropped the shield for a split second to conjure the balls of ghostly energy, which she instantly fired in all directions. Jolteon used Quick Attack to flicker out of the way, although a wave of psychic force caught it off guard and threw it into the barriers.

That had been a risky strategy. It was generally acknowledged as impossible to use a ghost or dark-type attack while using psychic energy at the same time without extensive training, simply because ghost and dark-type attacks disrupted psychics. If Dazed wasn't so fast Jolteon could have easily taken advantage of the momentary lapse.

"Disable and put it to sleep." Ash ordered. Dazed instantly followed his command. Jolteon was still too out of it to act on Surge's sudden flurry of orders, so Dazed had an easy time of locking him into a prison of light blue energy. Her pendulum began to sway back and forth in a rhythmic, enrapturing motion as her eyes glowed a bright blue.

"Shadow Ball!" Surge shouted. Jolteon's eyes flickered back to awareness thanks to the command, but it was too weak to actually utilize the ghostly energy. Ash knew that the attack wasn't to actually hurt Dazed, it was just to disrupt the Disable and give Jolteon an opportunity to escape.

Jolteon's eyes slowly lowered before they closed at last under Dazed's influence. Surge recalled it an instant later. "That's why I hate battling hypno." The massive man sighed. "Damn things have too many options available to them. Alakazam aren't the only psychic threat out there."

Ash grinned and nodded. "Good job, Dazed. I'll recall you for now."

Dazed nodded and shut her eyes as she was transformed into scarlet energy and pulled back into her pokeball. Ash clipped the ball to his belt before he removed Infernus'. This would be an intense battle. Neither of Surge's pokemon so far had failed to disappoint. He was sure Infernus would be satisfied.

"Raichu isn't actually my strongest, you know." Surge began conversationally as he pulled an ultra ball off of his belt. "She's my starter and I work with her best, but I've got something with more raw strength. Have fun."

Ash's eyes lit up at the prospect of the battle. He tapped the release to let Infernus out into the world.

Infernus stamped onto the ground with a shackled foot, splitting it and causing lava to burst out. He looked up to the ceiling and spat a stream of white flame before his entire body ignited into an inferno.

A massive Electivire appeared directly in front of Surge. It was bulky and humanoid, and two long, thin tails swished around behind it. Electivire roared and crushed its fists together, which produced a shockwave of thunder.

His grin grew even wider. This was better than he could have hoped for. Infernus seemed to be of the same mind. He roared back and spat a stream of blue flame around him as he glared at Electivire. Both powerful pokemon's respective element crackled around them as they stared each other down, silently awaiting their trainers' command.

Ash had been working out a strategy for Infernus during the rest of the match. It was a reflexive act whenever he looked at a setting, almost unconscious. Learning how to exploit the terrain was one of the most integral parts of being a trainer, and he was skilled enough to do it all the time.

He was going for the massive chunks of earth that had been gouged from the battlefield by Tangrowth. It would be simple for Infernus to fill them up with lava, which would make part of the field inhospitable for Electivire and also give Infernus a place where he could recover. Extra heat would boost Infernus to his prime.

But he had to make the first move. He had to be the one to break the stalemate. Just from a cursory glance he could tell that Electivire was too powerful to be allowed to go on the offensive. Infernus had to fight unrelentingly, without holding back in any manner.

"Bring up lava in the pits." He said quickly and quietly. Infernus lightly stamped the earth and blew a stream of flame into the air to obscure Electivire's vision and maintain a bit of secrecy. Ash grinned when he felt immense amounts of heat, dampened by the psychic barriers around the battlefield, rise upward.

"Haze, then Fire Blast. And, Infernus?" Ash called out. His friend nodded that he was listening. "Don't hold back."

If Infernus had an ordinary mouth, Ash was sure that he would have been grinning madly. Instead, he suspected that Infernus' eyes had lit up and burned with glee.

"Lightning Bolt!" Surge shouted. He was overconfident in Electivire. Ash wondered if he knew about Air Lens. The gym leader probably did. It would be a common strategy for anyone with a sufficiently powerful magmar. Ash really needed to get around to meeting Blaine again.

Electivire roared as it forced one of its thick arms forward. Electricity surged around it as it charged its power. A few moments later it released Lightning Bolt, which surged forward in a powerful beam.

Thankfully it was mostly dispersed by Fire Blast. Electivire roared again, but Infernus vanished as he used Fire Spin to set his entire side of the battlefield aflame. He was invisible, indistinguishable from the roaring inferno as he stalked through it.

Surge scowled. "Earthquake, then Shock Wave. When you find its position, Light Dash."

"Take cover." Ash ordered. He barely made out Infernus' shadowed form slipping into one of the larger magma pits before the earthquake rattled through the ground. While it probably caused Infernus a bit of damage even in the magma pit, the force didn't travel as well through the molten stone. Additionally, the intense heat from the magma pool would hopefully act as a rudimentary Air Lens.

From what he knew of the Air Lens technique, it relied upon Magmar intensifying the heat around it in a specific manner designed to neutralize electrical charges. Infernus didn't have the degree of control or instruction required to pull off such an incredible feat, but the pool's sheer temperature would hopefully be enough to mimic it. If not, it didn't matter. Infernus was invulnerable while he was in the magma pit.

Ash grinned when he saw the Shock Wave, which was ordinarily capable of being attracted to its target's bioelectricity through some complicated scientific means that Ash couldn't claim to understand, fizzle out over nothingness when it reached the magma pit. Unfortunately it still gave Surge and Electivire an idea of where to look.

Realization dawned on Surge's face. "It's in the ground. Rock Tomb! Trap it in."

Electivire cried out, a sound that reminded Ash of a whirring motor, as it stuck out its arm and fired several spheres of purple energy out over the ground. With a sweep of its arm it flattened the field and covered each of the pits with a strip of stone. It seemed that Surge and Electivire still didn't know about the magma.

"Magmar can't hide anymore." Surge laughed. "It's got to reveal itself before it can escape. We might as well call this one mine."

"Don't be so sure." Ash muttered. "Infernus, Lava Plume! Blow the place up."

Everyone froze as they heard the earth groan and rumble, although Ash wore a grin at the same time. The earth covering Infernus' pit began to crack and bulge upward as huge amounts of pressure began to build up underneath it.

"P. Def." Surge barked. Electivire crossed its arms. Its eyes began to glow as a screen of yellowish energy formed in front of it before being overlaid by a blue one. Ash recognized it as a Light Screen and Barrier combination, although he hadn't expected to see its use by Electivire. "When it's open, hit it with Lightning Bolt, Mk. 2."

Ash didn't have time to wonder at there being a second variant of Lightning Bolt before the world exploded. Infernus erupted from the ground in an outward blast of stone, magma, and energy. He was wreathed in flames as he spat a massive Flamethrower straight at Electivire, although all of the attack washed harmlessly off of the powerful barrier.

"Move!" Ash cried out to his friend. Infernus tried to jump to his left, but he didn't even have time to start before two immense blasts of electricity – two Lightning Bolts at once, how did Electivire manage that? – in its most powerful form slammed into his chest with pinpoint accuracy.

He winced as Infernus was briefly enveloped in the massive amount of electricity before the concussive force behind sent his body flying into the flames left over from his Haze technique. Ash sighed and reached for Infernus' pokeball. It looked like he wouldn't be winning this one.

But he stopped when he saw a defiant figure stagger to its feet, fearless and somehow conscious despite the power of the attacks he had just weather. Ash's eyes widened when he saw Infernus roar furiously and cause the flames that harbored him to leap twenty feet into the air, licking the gym's ceiling.

Ash shook his head. Only Infernus could survive two electric-type hyper beams and still be furious enough to fight. Perhaps they had been slightly weaker than normal thanks to Electivire splitting its energy between the both of them, but it was still an astounding feat – both for Electivire by actually doing it and Infernus for taking it.

"Smokescreen!" Ash shouted. He might not have expected this, but he would make the most of it. "Get in close, use Fire Blast and Fire Spin."

Infernus roared before dashing forward. He was a bit slow, but the thick shroud of smoke he spewed into the air helped to cover him and protect him from the bolts of electricity Electivire was firing into the haze.

"Shock Wave. Follow up with Light Dash." Surge snapped. He seemed annoyed that Infernus had taken the Lightning Bolts. It was unexpected for everyone.

Electivire roared before shooting the blue lance of electricity into the smoke. Infernus roared and blasted it with a stream of flame, but it still revealed his position. At least he wasn't hurt from it.

The electric-type easily weathered the Fire Blast that slammed into its chest and exploded in a bright flash of fire and energy. It hummed in annoyance and began to do something that Ash could barely make out, but it was suddenly enveloped in a twisting vortex of flame. Ash grinned when Fire Spin worked. Infernus had the advantage again.

At least he did until Electivire released a huge pulse of psychic energy from its body and caused the Fire Spin to disperse into embers. Ash sighed and realized that it must have used Light Screen to envelop its body before blasting the energy outward. It was quite similar to the technique Dazed regularly utilized.

"Same orders." Surge called. Electivire hummed before enveloping itself in a Light Screen again, although this time it melded to its massive body instead of acting as a simple shield. Ash frowned when it suddenly disappeared in a blur of motion. Something that large should not be able to use Quick Attack.

"Brick Break and Fire Punch." Ash called out. Normally Infernus would be fine if he just stayed in his flames, but that wouldn't work if Electivire was protected by a Light Screen. All the raging fire would do was comfortably warm the behemoth's fur.

So he had to remove that protection. Electivire couldn't fight for long when surrounded by flames. Infernus was obviously outmatched in regards to power, although his fierce need for dominance balanced the scales, so they had to be tricky.

Ash could barely see the outlines of the dueling fighters thanks to the raging inferno, but he could get an idea of what was going on. Electivire had finally impacted and Infernus had struck, but, here his heart skipped a beat, there seemed to be an incredibly powerful release of energy.

He blinked in surprise when he saw several bolts of lightning scatter throughout the air, leaving the sharp scent of ozone wafting into his nostrils, as well as the aforementioned explosion of purple and orange energy.

The trainer could see why Surge had referred to Electivire as his strongest pokemon. Not only was it able to use two Lightning Bolts at once when even one was enough to finish Raichu off, it was able to recover rapidly from it and protect itself using rare psychic techniques. But that was only the beginning. What really impressed Ash was the technique it had used, Light Dash.

If he had seen it and identified its obvious components correctly, Light Dash utilized at least four moves at once: Quick Attack for the speed, Light Screen for the protective shell of energy, Giga Impact for the sheer power it afforded, and some sort of electrical blast. It must have required quite a bit of rigorous training.

Ash was even more surprised when he saw the flames explode as well, right after the first explosion had blasted most of the fire away. It must have been from Infernus, who he was surprised to see still standing and also locked into a furious contest of strength with Electivire. Infernus was doing his best to hold Electivire back, but it was clear that the electric-type was easily overpowering Infernus.

"Fire Blast." Ash called out. It was a last ditch attempt at winning. Electivire was incredibly powerful at a distance, but up close it was indomitable. There was no way Infernus would escape, but at least he had a chance of winning if he used Fire Blast.

Infernus quickly spat the huge fire ball into the ground, causing an immense explosion. Electivire whirred angrily as it stumbled back, its coat burning with embers, but recovered easily. It glared and stepped forward menacingly. Ash winced as his friend tried to stand up, only to be wrenched up into the air by Electivire's powerful wire-like tails.

"Plug him." Surge called out with a grin, even as Ash desperately shouted, "Fire Blast."

His friend did manage to shoot the powerful fire ball into Electivire's chest and send the behemoth stumbling back a few steps, but not before Electivire squeezed its tails tighter around Infernus and touched the red, sparking tips to Infernus' neck.

Ash recalled his friend as Infernus began to spasm wildly. The battle was over. He wouldn't put Infernus through anything else.

It was a surprise when Surge recalled Electivire, who whirred in victory before it raised its arms and shot bolts of electricity into the air. Ash had expected to send Dazed back out to battle Electivire and determine who was the victor.

"I forfeit." Surge announced. Ash's eyes widened in surprise. "In an ordinary gym battle you would have won twice over. You're a damn good trainer, and it would be pointless to pit Electivire against that Hypno of yours. It would be a stalemate. Neither would get a hit in."

Ash nodded and placed Dazed's pokeball back onto his belt. He numbly realized that Sneasel was still standing on his shoulder. "One day you'll be out there." He said quietly.

Sneasel hissed excitedly and absentmindedly clung tighter to Ash.

"How sweet. The runt has a baby." Surge said with a booming laugh. He offered out his hand to Ash, which the trainer gladly shook. Sneasel hissed but didn't try anything. Even if he managed to hit the expertly trained warrior, Surge would probably just kick him clear across the gym. "Good job, Ash. I knew you'd be a good trainer."

"Thanks." He said with a grin. Surge teased a lot, but Ash liked him. The man was easy to get along with when he actually liked someone. "I'm glad that I got to battle you for real."

The gym leader laughed. "Our last match wasn't too impressive, was it? I just had Raichu pummeling that Nidoran of yours around and you managed to win thanks to poison and luck." He paused. "Has it evolved yet? Evolved pokemon will always carry you further."

"He evolved into a Nidoking around two months ago." Ash said happily. "I would have used him against you, but that wouldn't be a fair fight."

"Glad you see it that way, kid." Surge replied. "Well, I guess we'd better get to the Pokemon Center. We really did a number on each other."

That was something of an understatement, Ash thought privately.

"Hey, Jack!" Surge boomed. The gym trainer that brought Ash in snapped to attention and caught one of Surge's pokeballs. Ash noticed that the man looked at Ash in awe, as though he couldn't believe what he'd just seen. "That's Electivire. You're taking challengers for the rest of the day. Just use Thunderbolt on them. No mercy." Surge glanced back at the completely ruined battlefield. "Call that Golem in. We need to get the field fixed up real quick."

"Yes, sir!" The gym trainer saluted. He held the pokeball tightly before running around the field. Ash wasn't able to see where he was going before the two left the gym.

They attracted the attention of quite a few passerby, who looked in awe at their leader and protector. Ash assumed that it wasn't too common to see Surge outside of his infamous gym. He was far too dedicated to his duty to leave without cause.

He attracted a bit of attention himself. Ash was an average-sized eleven-year-old, but compared to the giant Surge he might as well have been a sentret next to a very large ursaring. It was probably something to see.

"I've heard about what you've done for the League." Surge said quietly. It still sounded as though he were shouting. "Nice work, that. Reminds me of my glory days. Now all I get to do is electrocute a bunch of useless Rocket grunts until they can't see straight." He snorted. "Of course, things might be getting more interesting thanks to the Rockets' newest toy."

"What'll you do if it comes to Vermillion?" Ash questioned.

"Run and get as many people to safety as I can." Surge replied without hesitation. At Ash's surprised look he gave a great, booming laugh. "What? I got the reports. If that thing can take down the Champion and the Elite Four without too much trouble, what could I do? I might not like running, but it's the only sensible thing to do."

Ash could understand that perfectly. Running was the only sort of victory when it came to something that powerful. He was still a bit surprised that Surge would ever willingly retreat, however. It didn't seem to fit the powerful man's nature.

"Well, enough of that. It makes the people nervous." Surge growled. He brightened up shortly. "What pokemon do you have? From what I saw you've got a nice little team set up."

"Aside from Nidoking, this little guy," he nodded at Sneasel, who hissed back, "and the others you know, I've got a Zubat, Machoke, Kingdra, and Pidgeot."

Surge nodded in approval. "Good diversity. That Kingdra'll give people hell in the Conference. Not many counters to something like that."

Ash didn't say anything as they stepped into the Pokemon Center. He was aware of dozens of trainers staring at the two in awe and fear. Well, they were staring at Surge. All he got were a few glances.

Most trainers shied away from Surge as he walked through the Pokemon Center. It didn't seem like many had good experiences with the man. Ash couldn't blame them if Surge had taken them seriously. Raichu alone was devastating.

"How are you, Lt. Surge?" Nurse Joy asked cheerily. She leaned forward on the counter and took the pokeballs Surge carefully set in front of her. He noted that she seemed surprised at the amount. Ash went ahead and put his injured friends alongside them. At least he wouldn't have to wait in line this way.

"Great!" Surge laughed. "Just had a damn good battle with this runt." He pointed at Ash. "It's nice having an actual challenge. Everyone else I've faced lately is a little baby with their tail between their legs." Ash noticed that Surge seemed to be aiming his words at the assorted trainers rather than Nurse Joy, who just had an amused smile on her face.

"That's nice." Nurse Joy commented drily. She glanced at Ash. "Mr. Ketchum, is it? I'll get your pokemon back to you as soon as I can. Lt. Surge, I'll transfer them over to the gym when they're healed."

"Thanks, Holly." Surge said gratefully. Nurse Joy rolled her eyes at the name. "Have a good day."

She laughed. "You too, Surge. Try not to be too harsh on the challengers. I have to clean up your mess."

"No promises." Surge gave a savage grin. Ash felt the corners of his lips curling up at the exchange. "Someone's got to keep the babies on their toes." He glanced down at Ash. "Runt, come with me. I've got to say a few parting words."

Ash acquiesced to the request and followed the giant out of the Pokemon Center. He felt a little uneasy underneath the stares of the trainers, most of which were either curious, impressed, annoyed, or a combination of all three.

When they stepped out into the soft Vermillion sun, Surge glanced down at him.

"Come back here eventually. I want a rematch. It'll be something to look forward to when I have to crush the dreams of a dozen babies a day." Surge boomed. "And if you ever need help with an electric-type, swing by."

"Thanks, Lt. Surge." Ash said with a grin.

"Just Surge." The gym leader shrugged. "You've earned that much." He looked around and crouched. "Runt, I liked you after our last battle. You had potential, more than I'd seen in a long time. After a real battle, I think I can respect you. Not many can best me in a match like that. Make sure to swing by for one last battle when you're the Champion or runner-up of this year's Conference."

Ash nodded, pride welling up inside that Surge thought so highly of him. The man's respect was hard to gain, and it was something he was proud to have. "I will. Someone's got to keep you on your toes." Ash said with a cocky grin.

Surge straightened up and laughed uproariously, attracting quite a bit of attention from random passerby. "Looks like you've got some claws after all. Make sure to keep them unsheathed more."

He glanced down the road that would take him to his gym. "Well, I'd better be off. Jack has probably blown up the gym by now."

"Bye." Ash said before the gym leader walked off, each stride equivalent to three of a smaller man. He shrugged and watched Surge leave before heading back into the Pokemon Center. It would be nice to clean up before he came back down for his friends and dinner.

XX

"Celadon's next." He told Nidoking and Plume. Plume's eyes darkened with uncharacteristic fury. She had bad memories of Erika's gym. Nidoking simply growled. The battle with Petrel and the Rocket hideout weren't their happiest memories. "Don't worry, Plume. You'll get to show her just how strong you are now."

Plume cooed softly and nipped his hat before taking to the skies. Ash watched her fly off wistfully before returning to Nidoking. "The journey will be about a week. I'm going to have you start teaching Sneasel Ice Beam. I think you're ready for it, aren't you?" He said softly to Sneasel.

The dark-type bounced up and down on the ground excitedly. He blew a puff of icy air before he raced off to chase some unfortunate pokemon.

"Keep an eye on him, will you?" Ash murmured to Nidoking. His best friend nodded seriously. They both knew that Sneasel might turn to more dangerous activities with the power of Ice Beam behind him. The trainer was a bit nervous about teaching him a powerful move like that in the first place, but he knew that he might as well get the phase over with. Sneasel would grow powerful eventually anyways, so it would be best to teach him discipline while he was still weak enough to be easily chastised.

But those thoughts could be put behind until tonight. For now he just wanted to get a move on. Ash shared a smile with Nidoking and glanced up at Plume's lazily circling form before he stepped off.

Celadon awaited him.

XX

**And that's it. I cut it a bit short this time. Thanks for reading, and I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have as long as they aren't too spoilerific, and make sure to review!**

**I'll get the next update out as soon as I can!**


	16. Chapter 16: Cities and the Storm

**A/N: Thanks for the feedback last chapter! You guys are awesome. Anyway, here's Chapter Sixteen, enjoy!**

It was a good day. The sun was bright but not hot, the air wasn't bitter with cold, and there were plenty of wild pokemon playing in the area. Ash had a smile on his face as he watched Sneasel run off into the woods after some unfortunate pokemon. Plume would stop him if he tried to take it too far, but Ash trusted Sneasel to restrain himself from slipping into a blood rage now.

This was his fourth day of travelling. Ash estimated that he had three days left. He'd made good progress so far, and the weather had been in his favor. Sneasel had done quite well in all of his matches so far, so overall everything had worked out wonderfully.

He didn't have any of his other friends out. Plume lazily drifted high above him, but he didn't have Nidoking or Torrent travelling beside him. Ash wanted to give Sneasel the chance to battle more, and that turned into a surprisingly difficult task when other trainers saw that he had a Nidoking or Kingdra.

Ash figured he would stop to take a lunch break soon. He'd been walking for hours now, and he'd only had a light breakfast. The food he'd bought from Vermillion had run out yesterday, so he was stuck eating ordinary, dull trainer meals. That was unpleasant, but it wasn't a nightmare. After a few days he'd get used to trainer meals again.

But for now he was keeping an eye on the road. He'd heard from a few other trainers that there was a vast, ongoing migration of electric-types to the northeast. They were probably searching for that freak storm that had been going on for the past few weeks. It would be nice to catch one. His battle with Surge had given him a desire to train one of his own.

As he stepped down the worn dirt road, he wondered just what was fuelling that storm. His mind immediately jumped to the Creature, but he shot that down. It would have taken too much power to fuel the storm for around two months, especially when the Creature was needed for Team Rocket's missions.

There were several pokemon that could manipulate the weather, but only one that had any reason to be in Kanto: Dragonair. It would take a large group of them to fuel a storm like that, which was unheard of, and Ash couldn't even begin to guess at their reason. But it was the only logical explanation.

Ash remembered Professor Oak being really excited about some other pokemon that could manipulate the weather on an impressive scale, although he couldn't remember its name. It was an artificial pokemon that had been created a few months before he had started his journey by some scientists in Hoenn, and his mother had been just as ecstatic as the Professor.

He shook himself out of those thoughts. Ash needed to focus. If he was lucky he would be able to get an electric-type before he hit Celadon City. That would be nice.

But for now he decided he would stop for lunch. Sneasel growled as he voiced that thought. He was a growing pokemon, and he looked forward to eating just as much as Ash did.

XX

The suburbs of Celadon were exactly as he remembered them. A few pikachu and rattata sniffed around and ran whenever they saw a human presence, but for the most part it was clean. Children played everywhere, and watchful growlithe and other easygoing pokemon kept vigilance over their charges dutifully.

Sneasel got a few odd looks, although a few children came up to pet him. Ash managed to warn them off before an accident happened. His friend was still too unstable to risk letting him around children, or any foreign human, really.

He got a few wary glances from the police that wandered around. Ash couldn't say he blamed them. They didn't like unfamiliar pokemon out anyways, and dark-types tended to cause more trouble than they were worth. Sneasel was rather comfortably hooked to Ash's back, however, and Ash knew he could control his friend should anything go wrong.

Not that Sneasel would need it. He'd calmed down a bit, even as he grew more independent. Nidoking and Torrent's stern eyes and lessons had kept him from doing anything dangerous.

It took him about half an hour to reach the Pokemon Center. The sprawling surburbs took a while to navigate, even with his prior experience.

"Hello! How can I help you?" Nurse Joy asked brightly. Ash smiled and dipped his hat to her before he replied.

"I just need a key." He said politely. Nurse Joy smiled and handed him one. Ash gave a nod of thanks before he walked off. The trainer glanced around the atrium, not surprised in the least by how many people were hanging around. Erika might not be at the top of many trainer's battle lists, but Celadon was a major hub. The presence of the Department Store didn't hurt at all.

He checked the news before he left. It was important to stay informed now.

"Tensions remain high in Kanto as Pokemon League forces continue to raid Team Rocket bases. Raids in Pewter City led to clashes in the streets between Rockets and Pewter City gym trainers." A pretty anchor said sadly. "As more and more reports of civilian and League casualties come in, there has been a public outcry for the League to ramp up its efforts. In a speech last night, Champion Lance urged civilians to stay calm. He has assured us that the League is doing everything within its power and that Team Rocket is on the precipice of destruction."

Ash smiled as he turned away. That was all he needed to hear. He couldn't hold his annoyance at the people trying to get the League to do more – they were already devoting an immense amount of resources to stopping the terrorist organization. When Lance was forced to rise off of his throne in Indigo Plateau, things were going to get serious.

Hopefully the League would be able to finish Team Rocket off soon. It had lost several Executives over the past few months, so they couldn't be as stable as they were before. Plus they had been prevented from expanding into the Sevii Islands. Team Rocket was still dangerous, but it seemed reliant on the Creature to protect itself.

He shook himself out of his thoughts. The League was handling everything. Right now he just needed to let go for a bit and get ready for the Conference. Things were looking good for him so far, and he was confident that he could at least reach the Finals if he put some more effort in.

The trainer suddenly smiled as he walked out of the Pokemon Center. He might not get the most fulfilling of battles when he challenged Erika in a few hours, but he would give Plume a chance to get her payback. Infernus would probably have fun as well, especially if Erika sent out her Tangela. Plume would easily overpower it, but there just wasn't enough room in the gym for her to maneuver effectively. Plus, Ash knew just how fast Tangela were, at least in regard to their reflexes. It wouldn't be too difficult for it to snatch the handicapped Plume out of the sky.

But that would come later. For now, he had two very important stops to make.

XX

"Can you tell the Chief that Ash Ketchum would like to see her, please?" Ash requested politely to the young Jenny at the front desk. He supposed that the other attendant was off today, or perhaps had a different shift.

He'd made sure to recall Sneasel before entering. Pokemon generally weren't allowed to be released in important League buildings. They were way too big of a security risk.

She glanced up and narrowed her eyes at him. "What business do you have with the Chief? She's pretty busy, you know. Team Rocket's been pretty active as of late." The teenager paled. "Oops. I'm not supposed to mention that. Do you mind keeping quiet about it?"

Ash smiled. He wasn't sure why, but he felt oddly cheerful today. It was as though something had been taken off of his shoulders. The lightheartedness was probably thanks to the good news about Team Rocket. They couldn't hold out much more, even with the Creature's assistance.

"I won't say a word." He promised. Ash's smile grew wider. "Of course, I might be more inclined to keep that promise if you sent a message up to the Chief. I might be able to help her with her Rocket problem if she really needs it."

Jenny raised an eyebrow at him. "Uh huh. Sure you could. A newbie trainer will have the Rockets quaking in their boots." Nevertheless, she called up the Porygon and had it transfer itself to the Chief's room. After about a minute, it returned. "Well, that's a surprise. Head on up. I'm guessing you know the way."

Ash nodded before he walked over to the elevator and took it up to Chief Jenny's office. It was rather fast, so he didn't get too bored before it came to a stop with a soft beep. He stepped out, only to hear Chief Jenny's mid-rant.

"—damn it, I don't care!" She snapped. Jenny was glaring at her computer screen, where she was presumably on a call with someone. The Chief had earphones in, so he couldn't make out the other side of the conversation. It seemed that she hadn't noticed his presence yet. "Tell Erika to get off her ass and do something! We're the only city with a major Team Rocket presence now. We need more resources."

Jenny's eyes twitched as whoever was on the other end of the line replied. Ash was rather glad that she hadn't seen him yet. It looked like she wasn't in the best mood.

"I don't care about the damn perfume line." She hissed. She was squeezing something that Ash recognized as a stress ball. Jonathan had to have one back in school after his Murkrow incident. "We have more important problems…yes, yes. Again: I don't care." Jenny suddenly looked up and saw Ash. She gave a sigh of relief. "You know what? We can continue this later."

She scowled as she cut the call. "Kid, if you ever go into law enforcement, make sure you're under a gym leader like Surge or Koga."

"I'll make sure to remember that." Ash said carefully. "What was all that about?"

"Erika." Jenny grunted. She leaned forward against her desk and rubbed her temples. "She's good enough at maintaining order in the city and keeping things steady, but she's awful at fighting the Rockets. For some reason, she thinks that just because they aren't doing much in the open they aren't a threat. I think she's been around the fumes in her gym for too long."

Ash snorted. "Didn't she get a visit from Bruno?"

"How do you know –," Jenny began before she sighed. "Never mind. You seem to get into everything. Like the incident at Viridian, for example." She said knowingly. Ash frowned. "Anyways, she did. Erika actually stepped up efforts, but she's not doing enough. We're still waiting on the requisition of dark-types in case that thing appears here."

He nodded. "Is she fighting them herself?"

"Some. I have to admit, she's pretty powerful. A stronger trainer than I am, anyways." Jenny said through grit teeth. "I doubt she compares to someone like Lt. Surge or Sabrina, but she can hold her own quite well. When she's awake, at least." She scowled, although her expression softened. "Well, enough about my troubles. What are you here for?"

"Just wanted to drop by." He shrugged. "I'm going to the Department Store after this, and then I'm going to challenge Erika to a rematch."

The Chief gave him a smile. "Make sure to crush her, alright? She needs a shock to her system. It'll keep her from dozing off. In fact, you should use that magmar I gave you." Jenny grinned. "From the way you talked about it last time, it's a pretty strong fighter. It could cut Erika down to size."

Ash laughed. "He'd have fun doing it. I'll make sure to use him at least once. I don't think my Pidgeot will work too well against her Tangela."

"That Tangela is a monster." Jenny said with an expression rife with distaste. "I don't know how it hasn't evolved yet. She took down two Rocket Elites with that thing. It's fast."

Chief Jenny's position on Erika was strange, Ash noted. On one hand she strongly disliked Erika for her weak leadership abilities and apparent dismissal of Team Rocket as a serious threat to the safety of Celadon. On the other she respected Erika as a powerful trainer. Her conflicting opinions probably made her a bit more annoyed with Erika than she normally would be.

"I've got a Tangrowth." Ash replied. He lightly tapped Tangrowth's pokeball. "Nobody really appreciates how powerful they can be. He's only lost a few battles since I got him."

The Chief was about to say something when her computer started beeping. Ash assumed that she had a call waiting for her.

"Sorry, but I've got to cut this short." The Chief apologized. "Erika's calling me personally. It looks like I offended the gym representative worse than I thought." She said with a dangerous smile. "Good luck on your journey, and make sure to beat Erika senseless."

Ash nodded with a grin and started walking out. As he opened up the elevator, the Chief said something else. "And Kid, try not to get into too much danger. I saw the video of Viridian. That was enough danger for a lifetime."

"No promises." He said tightly. The memories of Viridian had made him tense and tired. "Bye, Chief."

She just nodded at him before she sighed and answered the call. Ash couldn't hear anything she said before the elevator took him back down to the base floor.

XX

As he walked up the long flights of stairs to the floor with TMs, Ash looked out at the selection of items on each level. The store was bursting with customers today, so he didn't want to get caught up in the elevator lines.

He suddenly stopped. Had he really just seen that?

Ash walked back down the stairs and went out to examine the very odd product he'd just seen. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw a large rack filled with capes – capes that were exactly like Lance's.

"Have you ever wanted to feel like the Champion?" A tall, grinning man that bore a disturbing similarity to Lance said in the small screen beside the cape rack. His hair was a bit off, and he wasn't quite as muscular as Lance, but he looked the part. He even had the same outfit Lance wore during League matches. "Well, here's your chance. Celadon Department Store offers genuine replicas of Champion Lance's cape, great for any trainer with the right amount of flair. With its fire and lightning retardant material, you'll be training dragons in no time!"

He snorted in amusement and wished that he could download the video. Ash didn't know if he would see Lance or Steven before the Conference, but he'd definitely be telling them about this. At least Steven would think it was funny.

Ash just laughed again before he headed off. Genuine replica? What had the advertisers been thinking? That wasn't exactly going to convince him to buy their product, not that he would buy it anyway.

The trainer shook off his amusement and walked away from the cape rack. While it was a good laugh, he needed to focus and get his TMs. It would be nice to give them to his friends today and get them acclimated to the new abilities.

He began his ascent again. It was a long way to the TM floor.

XX

The Department Store had as good of a selection as ever. There were dozens of TMs to examine, but Ash had already glanced at his friends' move pools to know what he needed. So he quickly skimmed over the selection and picked the TMs he wanted out, although he kept a keen eye out for any that might prove particularly useful in the future.

Ash had more money than he knew what to do with, so he didn't pay too much attention to the cost of the TMs. He'd spent quite a bit since Lance added forty thousand to his account, but he'd earned even more through his constant battles. Now that he tended to only battle stronger trainers he got much more for winning.

He glanced down at his selection. Each of the disks shimmered slightly in the light as he spread them out.

For Nidoking, he'd gotten Poison Jab. He released a thin layer of toxins from his thick armor during battle, in addition to the poison he produced in his spikes and horn, but Poison Jab would allow him to temporarily release poison from his claws. That would be an incredible boon during battle, especially since it involved a much smaller risk of severely hurting his opponent than if he stabbed them with his horn and pumped them full of poison.

Ash bought Plume the TM for Steel Wing. She had much more firepower now that she knew Air Slash, and she could easily dominate most opponents with her incredible speed and the sheer force her speed gave her physical attacks, but this would let her have a fighting chance against rock-types. When she managed to master Hurricane, Plume would have enough offensive power to contend with the rest of the team.

He frowned at that. Plume was more than capable of fighting off average and strong pokemon, but she just wasn't able to match the kind of opponents he faced now. The gym leaders' pokemon were just too powerful. Hurricane would even the odds, but he needed to start investing more time into perfecting Plume. Ash knew that she had the strength and willpower to match any opponent, he just needed to hone her and teach her more powerful attacks.

Torrent didn't need any TMs. There weren't any that he could really use. Ash knew there were quite a few moves that he could still learn, and most of them were extremely powerful, but they hadn't been made into TMs yet. Some moves were guarded jealously thanks to their extreme difficulty to learn, and some were just too rare for a TM of them to be profitable. Others just didn't translate well from the data in the TM to pokemon's brains.

Dazed would be getting Focus Blast. While it was a fighting-type move, it wasn't based on actually fighting. It was used by focusing the energy within a pokemon's body and unleashing it. He supposed that it harnessed the energy that Bruno and his pokemon manipulated so well. It would give her a strong defense against dark-types and give Sneasel something to think about.

There wasn't much he could buy for Infernus or teach him. He knew all of the moves he really needed and would learn the attacks that would give him a real edge in battle from Blaine when they went to train with the fire-type Master in a few weeks. Ash grinned at the thought of that. Once he beat Koga, he would return to Cinnabar and give Infernus the tools to become even stronger.

Just because there wasn't much, it didn't meant there wasn't anything. The magmar entry on the pokedex mentioned that they had limited psychic abilities. Ash had noticed it before, particularly in the gym battle with Sabrina. Infernus had proved to have a moderate resistance to psychic abilities, although he couldn't harness the potential very well. It was more like a passive resistance.

But there was one vitally important move that could make Infernus much more adaptable. And the best thing was that Ash didn't have to buy it. It might be possible for Dazed to teach it to him, although the path would likely be difficult.

Ash was torn about what to get for Bruiser. The only TMs his friend needed were the ones Ash had already bought. He was hesitant to buy a copy of the TM. He'd kept the ones he'd already used in his TM case, so he figured he could just see if he could trade them in. It was annoying that Silph Co. had engineered them to be good for one use only.

Tangrowth would be getting Solar Beam. It was just too powerful of a move for Ash to ignore, and he could only imagine the kind of devastation Tangrowth could wreak with it. Tangrowth were amongst the most powerful of grass-types, and even a weak grass-type could use Solar Beam to great effect.

"Sorry, buddy, but you don't get any yet." Ash said apologetically. Sneasel hissed and leapt down from his shoulder to peer at the shiny disks. He knew better than to touch them, but his predator instincts were drawn to the bright objects. "Nidoking and Torrent can teach you what you need to know."

He had a small smile on his face as he took his purchases up to the counter. Ash had his TM case out already so that he could just go ahead and put them in.

"Hey, how's it going?" The man at the counter said as he took the TMs and began scanning them.

"Good. You?" Ash replied as he was handed back the first of his new TMs.

"Well enough." The man shrugged. He glanced at the TM case. "Say, do you have any other TMs in there?"

Ash nodded slowly, not really sure why it was relevant. "I was going to trade some of them back in. I've already used them."

"I've got good news for you, then." The man said with a grin as he handed the last of Ash's TMs back and deducted the charge from his trainer account. Ash narrowed his eyes and listened attentively. "Silph Co. made a deal with us. For a fee, we can reactivate TMs permanently. It's pretty awesome, right?"

He grinned and nodded. As long as the fee wasn't too exorbitant, this might save him quite a bit of money. "Why haven't I heard about this? I would think that everyone would be pretty excited."

"It's exclusive." The man whispered conspiratorially. "How many badges do you have? I'm only supposed to do it for trainers with six or more."

"Eight." Ash said proudly. He pulled out his pokedex and showed his I.D. to the man, which proved the validity of his claim. Trainer Cards were the real way badges were tracked. The physical badges worked as well and served as a back-up, but they were mostly a formality and tradition nowadays.

"Great! This is actually my first time to do this." The man admitted. "Anyways, the price is two thousand for each TM you want reactivated. A bit expensive, but it's worth it. Especially for the more useful ones."

Ash nodded. That was definitely true. It was still cheaper than buying them all over again. He opened up the TM case and glanced at the ones he already had: Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, Blizzard, Aerial Ace, Shadow Ball, Earthquake, Shadow Claw, Double Team, Teleport, Brick Break, and Sludge Wave.

He couldn't afford to reactivate all of them. That would just be too expensive. It would completely drain his funds since he'd already bought the new TMs.

So he just picked out the ones he saw being the most useful. Ice Beam, Blizzard, Thunderbolt, Shadow Ball, Earthquake, Teleport, and Brick Break. After he'd set the selected disks on the counter, he placed Solar Beam and Focus Blast with them. The rest he carefully slid into the TM case before Sneasel could try and play with them.

"This'll take just a moment." The man told him. Ash nodded and the man went over to an odd machine. He placed them in one at a time. After they were all in, a small light inside of the machine flashed several times. When it stopped, the man removed the TMs and handed them back to Ash. "There you are."

"Thank you." Ash nodded as he slid them into the TM case. Sneasel playfully tried to bat at the disks, but Ash was too fast for him.

"Do you mind keeping quiet about this?" The man asked. "Silph doesn't want to be mobbed about this. It's experimental. I've heard that it won't be available to the common public for another two years."

"Of course." Ash replied before he placed the TM case into a storage compartment. He shared another nod with the helpful man before he walked away. Now he had everything he came for.

Ash grinned as he took the elevator down to the first floor. It was time to make good on the promise he'd made to the Chief.

Erika was waiting for him.

XX

He gagged as he entered the gym. The stench of dozens of gloom made him want to rush out and abandon the rematch altogether. It was hard to believe that anyone was capable of making perfume out of it. Nevertheless, he stayed strong. As he knew from prior experience, the smell would dull after a few minutes.

A young woman glanced up at him from the receptionist table. "Oh, hello. You don't look like you'd be interested in trying any of our perfumes. I'm guessing you're here for a battle?"

Ash nodded. He didn't trust himself to speak quite yet. In fact, he was fairly certain that he would be able to taste the smell of the gloom if he opened his mouth. Erika probably wouldn't be too happy with him if he got sick in her gym.

"Name?" She glanced at the screen.

"Ash Ketchum." He coughed out. The smell was starting to grow dull, so he began to breathe in through his mouth. His tongue felt as though it were coated in the stench.

"It says you've already been here before." The girl said in confusion. She looked up at him. "Are you looking for a rematch?"

He nodded.

"Huh. Don't get too many of those." She muttered. "Most people don't come back to this gym, for some reason." The girl said sarcastically. "Well, the last challenger just left a few minutes ago. I don't see us getting another one, so head on in. Erika's waiting. I assume you know the way?"

He nodded again. She waved him away and he walked through the same hallway as last time. In just about thirty seconds he'd reached Erika's gardens.

Ash vaguely remembered where he'd found her last time and mentally traced his steps. He smiled at the grass-types that gathered around him and even leaned down to pat some of them, although he made sure to avoid any of the pokemon that could release poison.

Erika was asleep when he found her. She was laid back against a rather large Venusaur, who rumbled at Ash menacingly. It gently prodded Erika awake with a vine, and its manner suggested that it was very close to the gym leader.

"What is it, Venusaur?" She yawned. Erika stretched before she looked up at Ash with bleary eyes. "Oh, hello. I'm sorry, I must have dozed off." The gym leader examined Ash carefully. A spark of recognition flashed in her tired green eyes. "I remember you. Are you here for a rematch?"

Ash nodded. Erika sighed and stood up gracefully. She glanced at the hulking Venusaur she had been resting on. "Come now, Venusaur. You need a good workout."

Venusaur grunted and lumbered behind the two as they began their walk towards the battlefield. It seemed to have a few battle scars from a previous battle, so Ash assumed it hadn't been cleaned up yet. Erika probably hadn't expected another battle.

"Thank you for defeating the Rockets in the Game Corner." She said demurely. "They were a great threat to the security of Celadon. Organized crime dropped sharply. I hope to see the same skill you displayed against them in our battle."

"You will." Ash promised. He wondered if she knew about his other encounters with Team Rocket. She hadn't given him any sort of indication that she did. "Three-on-three?"

She considered briefly as they stepped onto the torn dirt of the battlefield. "That is acceptable." Erika replied. "Take your position. Challenger, choose your pokemon."

Ash smiled softly as he strode over to his box. Psychic barriers flared up around the field as a bright, shimmering wall before fading into transparency. Erika took her own position, and whistled. Venusaur roared at Ash as it lumbered onto the battlefield, untouched by the barrier. It was meant to keep things in, not out.

He released Plume without hesitation. She shrieked her arrival as she materialized in a flash of scarlet light. Her massive wings spread outward and she cried out again before taking to the sky. There was no ceiling over the battlefield, thankfully. As long as Plume stayed within bounds there would be no issue.

Still, he knew that Plume might not have the easiest time here. Back when she was a pidgeotto she was able to easily maneuver through such a tight battlefield. Now, her massive wings and body would be somewhat of a hindrance. It wouldn't be such a problem in the Conference, where the battlefields were almost ridiculously large, but here it was an issue.

It was only a minor problem. He had planned for it.

"Venusaur, Vine Whip." Erika said softly. Venusaur grunted and launched two massive, thick green vines toward Plume. She easily evaded them by flying higher, and even then she took a moment to use Air Slash in order to slice the vines into pieces.

"Good job." Ash shouted encouragingly. Venusaur roared in pain as it withdrew its vines. Unlike Tangrowth, Venusaur could actually feel them. It only took a few days for them to regrow, but it wasn't as smooth as Tangrowth's recovery. "Air Slash! Follow with Aerial Ace."

Plume screeched before barreling toward the pained Venusaur. Mid-dive, she flapped her powerful wings and sent another blade of air into Venusaur. It grunted and glared up at her with red eyes.

"Solar Beam." Erika smiled, a bit colder than what Ash remembered. She underwent a marked change during battle. "Then you need to use Sleep Powder."

Venusaur wasn't very impressive compared to Gyarados or Surge's team, but it was well trained, at least in regards to harnessing energy. Ash would admit that much. Certainly capable of crushing Team Rocket. It proved that assessment by firing a Solar Beam after taking only a second to gather up the required solar energy.

Still, Ash didn't know what Erika was thinking. All Solar Beam did was force Plume to veer to the side. Venusaur apparently wasn't capable of maintaining the Solar Beam for very long. It couldn't even try to trace Plume with it. The behemoth simply fired a single blast of energy toward the maneuverable Plume, who dodged it without even trying.

"Leaf Storm." Erika ordered. She appeared to have stopped bothering with Sleep Powder. At the same time, Ash called out, "Aerial Ace!"

Venusaur sluggishly responded to the command, probably still in pain from its vines being severed. It shook its body, causing dozens of large, razor-sharp leaves to fall out. They were caught by a summoned wind and glowed brightly as they began to swirl in a tornado-like fashion. Ash noted that it was weaker than Tangrowth's Leaf Storm.

Unfortunately, by the time that had happened Plume had appeared behind it in a blur of motion and slammed into the thick creature. Venusaur grunted and followed Plume's blurred form as best as it could. Particles of bright white energy slowly collected around its massive flower and were drawn in to the plant, providing it with all the energy it needed to fire another Solar Beam.

The Leaf Storm collapsed as Venusaur focused on using Solar Beam instead. A white beam of bright energy shot towards Plume, but she swerved out of the air again. Ash frowned. Venusaur was skilled at harnessing the energy, but it was only a somewhat strong pokemon, like the ones Erika had used for his first gym battle.

Did Erika not take him seriously, or did she just not care?

"Plume, Air Slash again. Finish it off." Ash scowled. Even the soothing aroma of Venusaur's flower didn't keep his annoyance at bay. "Hit it with Whirlwind if it survives."

"Sludge Bomb." Erika sighed. Ash stared at her in confusion. She wasn't even watching the battle. His fists curled in annoyance, but he didn't say anything.

Venusaur roared as it closed its eyes. It reared up on its hind legs and shot a huge glob of murky sludge into the sky. Plume casually ducked underneath it and flapped her powerful wings. A blade of air slammed into Venusaur's exposed stomach and threw it backwards.

Ash was actually quite impressed. Venusaur might not be the best fighter, but it was heavy. He hadn't expected Plume to be able to throw it nearly five feet with a single attack, although Venusaur's stance had certainly helped her.

Before Venusaur could even try to retaliate or pick itself up, it vanished in a burst of red light. Erika frowned at the pokeball and placed it into a fold of her robes.

"That was rather rude. Venusaur needed some practice. He just evolved yesterday." She frowned. Her verdant green eyes flashed. "I suppose you want a real battle, then? You have improved quite a bit, but I have as well. Vileplume, go!"

A massive Vileplume appeared on the battlefield. The large flower on its head released a powerful aroma that made Ash feel as if he were floating on a cloud. Ash knew that he should have identified it as completely disgusting since it smelled just as bad as the flower of a gloom, but there was something addictive about it.

He suddenly scowled and shook himself out of it. Erika wouldn't beat him by releasing a drug into the air.

It smiled and waved at Plume as the massive bird landed. Plume shrieked back and prepared to take to the skies again.

"Dear Gloom evolved, you see." Erika said with a bright smile as she gestured to the smiling Vileplume with an elegant gesture. "She has become much stronger. Let us see if your bird is able to match her."

"Take to the skies." Ash commanded. "Play it safe."

Plume shrieked before she took off. Vileplume frowned and shook its stubby arm at her. The powerful grass-type shook its body and sent a massive cloud of toxic pollen wafting into the air. Ash scowled. While Plume could easily blow it away, the pollen would make it difficult for Plume to get close.

"Sunny Beam!" Erika shouted. It seemed that she was dropping her ordinary veneer of perpetual calmness. "Wide Leaf and Petal Dance."

Vileplume cried out and squeezed its tiny black eyes shut. Ash had to shield his eyes as the sunlight intensified to an almost painful degree. If it weren't for his cap he wouldn't be able to see at all. That would be brutal for Plume. She relied on her keen vision quite a bit. Being blinded would throw her off guard.

"Plume, end this! Air Slash." Ash shouted. "After that, Whirlwind!"

Plume shrieked and struggled in the air. She was still moving far too fast for Vileplume to keep track of her, but Ash could see that she was having difficulty. They needed to end this fast.

Despite her discomfort, Plume managed to find Vileplume. She shrieked and sent a blade of air flying toward Vileplume. The grass-type squealed and leapt out of the way, but it wasn't able to avoid the Whirlwind. Vileplume was sent helplessly careening thanks to the powerful gale of wind. It just didn't have the mass to resist the Whirlwind.

But it was still able to fight. Vileplume expertly shook its petals in midair and sent dozens of sharp leaves spinning through the air. Ash assumed it was what Erika had called Wide Leaf. The leaves covered an immense amount of space, and he saw Plume slow for a moment as one sliced into her hard body.

"Keep it up!" He shouted, eager to finish this. "Air Slash, finish it off with Whirlwind."

Plume screeched as she sent yet another blade of air slashing through the air. Vileplume cried out as the blade slammed into its fragile body and hurled it roughly into the ground. Nevertheless, the Vileplume continued to follow Erika's order. It still had some fight in it.

Vileplume growled in a starkly unthreatening manner as the opening on its flower stretched widely toward the sky and hundreds of small pink petals spiraled out at an incredibly high velocity. Plume was moving too quickly for Vileplume to get good aim, but Ash knew that Petal Dance was dangerous. At the speed they were going, the iron-hard petals would easily knock Plume around.

The grass-type seemed capable of keeping the Petal Dance up forever. It never seemed to tire as it slowly rotated its body in an attempt to keep up with Plume's erratic patterns. Vileplume wasn't able to trace Plume accurately thanks to its massive flower blocking its vision at most angles, but the swirling petal covered an extremely large area.

"Stick to its blind spot." Ash commanded softly. He trusted in Plume's hearing, and, judging from her sudden adjustment to stay behind Vileplume, it was well placed. "One last Whirlwind. Finish it with Quick Wing."

Plume shrieked and paused just a moment to send a huge blast of air towards Vileplume, which picked up the tiny grass-type and caused it to fly backwards. It gently fell to the ground thanks to its flower, and took Plume's brief moment of vulnerability to aim its Petal Dance at her with perfect accuracy.

Ash frowned when several of the petals that continually streamed from Vileplume's flower slammed into Plume. His friend managed to recover from the speeding projectiles, but it looked like several small patches of her feathers had been stripped. He had to hide a smile. The wound to Plume's vanity was far worse to her than the pain itself. It would rile her up much worse than any attack.

When Vileplume suddenly launched a Solar Beam at her, Plume casually vanished out of the way with Quick Attack and appeared briefly before flickering toward Vileplume. All Ash could make of her during the Quick Attack were two bright wings, shimmering with energy born of her Wing Attack.

Vileplume cried out as Plume slammed one of her wings straight into the grass-type's fragile body. While it would be devastating if Plume had used it conjunction at her normal speeds, the sheer force the velocity given to her by the Quick Attack imparted upon Vileplume was enough to instantly hurl the grass-type into one of the psychic barriers surrounding the field.

A smile spread across Plume's face. "Good job, girl! I couldn't have asked for better."

Plume shrieked and landed onto the rugged battlefield as Erika sighed and recalled Vileplume. She puffed her chest out proudly and cooed at him as they awaited Erika's next pokemon. Ash was fairly certain of what it would be, and wasn't too certain about Plume's capabilities in defeating it.

Tangela tended to be one of the exceptions in regards to grass-types' weakness to flying-types. Normally, the weakness was borne of grass-types being unable to effectively fight back against flying-types. They tended to fight with close range attacks, or at least ground based ones. Not many grass-type moves were capable of reaching high enough to actually hit a flying-type. Flying-types were able to stay far away from most grass-type's attacks and abilities and could strike without fear of repercussion.

But the tangela family was different. Even a tangela's vines could extend to fifty feet, although they began to lose most of their effectiveness at about thirty, and Ash wasn't even sure how far Tangrowth's could stretch. They were ideal for snatching flying-types out of the sky and had access to Ancient Power to neutralize most flying-types' effectiveness.

In other words, Erika's Tangela was capable of fighting Plume quite well. Physical attacks were too dangerous for Plume to risk lest she be torn out of the air, and it could pull its light body out of the way rather easily with vines. Ash actually noticed several odd indents throughout the field that would be ideal for vines to grip around. Tangela's reflexes were just too fast for Plume to come near, even at the incredible speeds she could reach.

Perhaps she would be more effective if she was actually capable of using her speed to its full potential, but the tight space forced upon her by the gym's limits worked against them in that respect. Plume was handicapped.

His fear was confirmed when Erika's large Tangela appeared. It gurgled in a manner markedly different from the noises Tangrowth had made before he had evolved and stared at Plume. Now that he had possessed a tangela of his own, Ash was well aware that the creature in front of him was a rather impressive specimen of the breed. It looked to have been blessed with incredible natural strength.

"It's the bird again." Erika said distastefully. "Snatch it out of the sky before it can get up. Slam and absorb."

"Plume, are you ready?" He asked tersely. Ash received a determined shriek in response. Despite his trepidation, Ash grinned. Even if Plume didn't win this, she would do her very best. That was all he could ever ask for. But he would do his best as well. This fight would require unconventional tactics. "Air Slash."

She didn't even hesitate to follow his command. Tangela gurgled in that distinctly foreign voice as the blade of air slammed into it and knocked it over. Plume immediately took to the air and blasted Tangela with a powerful gust as she did so.

"Whirlwind." Ash muttered. "Hit it with Air Slash when it's distracted."

Plume deftly avoided the grasping vines Tangela managed to send after her and flapped her massive wings once toward the spherical grass-type. Tangela made an odd sneezing noise as it fell over, although its vines managed to push it up quickly.

It wasn't able to recover before the Air Slice cut into its form. The condensed blade of air sent the small grass-type flying backward, although it used its vines to deftly catch itself. Tangela growled and shot a powerful Solar Beam at Plume.

Ash frowned when Tangela managed to keep the Solar Beam up for more than twenty seconds. He didn't bother giving any commands during that time. Plume didn't need to be distracted by him when she was avoiding an attack as powerful as that Solar Beam.

Tangela certainly had power. Solar Beam was less intensive than Hyper Beam, but still incredibly powerful. To keep it up for that long meant Tangela had exceptional strength in its small form. The intensive training Erika had probably put it through only helped in that regard.

"Ancient Power." Erika snapped. Her bright green eyes seemed annoyed. "Solar Beam before you catch it."

The grass-type hissed back at her. Glowing spheres of light formed on dozens of its vines. It hurled half of the spheres into the air, but the other half were thrown at various spots around the battlefield.

"Agility." Ash called out. There was no point in trying to hide what he was doing at the moment. It would be what Erika expected, anyway.

Plume vanished. She wasn't left as a blur of motion as she was when she used Quick Attack, she was almost invisible. His eyes simply weren't capable of easily tracking her enhanced speed. Agility had propelled her to almost ridiculous levels of speed, although the strain using the technique for extended periods of time would be almost as dangerous to her as getting hit by Tangela's Ancient Power.

Well, maybe. The giant chunks of stone Tangela was telekinetically hurling toward her were probably more dangerous than burnout. They'd easily knock her out of the sky.

But the massive projectiles were a greater threat than he had anticipated. Tangela had gotten rid of the uneven stone and earth and had just closed its large, saucer-like eyes. It used Ancient Power again, but this time it shot every single one of the energy balls into the ground.

Ash was aware that his jaw had dropped as Tangela ripped more than half the battle field up and hurled it into the sky. He could tell that Plume would have difficulty avoiding the earthen projectiles, so he figured that it was time to try something out. It was dangerous, but so was getting hit by Tangela's attack.

"Quick Attack." He shouted. His fists clenched as Plume's flickering form simply vanished, too fast for the eye to catch. In the next instant, her large, proud form slammed into Tangela. Ash's grin showed a bit more teeth. Tangela might have almost absurdly fast reflexes, but Plume, enhanced by Agility and Quick Attack, was unstoppable. The grass-type gurgled in surprise as it was hurled into a psychic barrier.

Plume slowed when Tangela was temporarily incapacitated. Ash shouted out a congratulations before she hurtled up into the bright blue sky. He really was proud of her. That technique had to be incredibly draining, but she still managed to keep it up. Maybe he'd have to train her more extensively with it. Her lack of offensive power would be completely offset by the sheer speed she would gain.

Erika's pale face was twisted into a scowl. Ash was actually surprised by how much annoyance was held within the expression. "Hyper Wave."

"Agility." Ash called out. He assumed Erika was about to use some variant of Hyper Beam. Plume was obviously exhausted, but he would like to see if she could take Tangela out as well. It would have to be done quickly, however. She couldn't keep an assault up for long.

As Tangela looked up into the sky and gurgled, which elicited particles of brilliant white energy to slowly collect in front of its mouth, Ash considered ways to defeat it. Normally he would rely on powerful elemental or psychic attacks, but that course of action wasn't an option with Plume.

Blunt force did little to Tangela's protected body. It could slow it down, but it didn't do much damage to the spongy creature. He'd have to rely on Air Slice or Plume's rarely utilized talons to take Tangela down.

He turned away when a tremendous blast of energy lit up the battlefield like a second sun. Ash hissed in pain as his eyes were blinded with twinkling stars. The ground shook slightly, as though a great roll of thunder had split the atmosphere.

But the energy Tangela utilized was still bright enough for him to make it out through the stars, even if he couldn't make out anything else. It was obviously a Hyper Beam, but it was as though Tangela had poured a dangerous amount of energy into it. The beam didn't simply travel forward, but sizzled through the air in the form of a cone, which allowed the powerful attack to cover the entire sky in the hot energy.

Ash glanced up at the sky worriedly when he heard Plume shriek in pain, even if he couldn't hope to make her form out. Her lustrous plumage was hidden from him by the slowly fading light that dominated his vision. The trainer did his best not to stumble from the effects.

"Air Slash!" He cried, hoping that his friend hadn't been knocked unconscious by the attack. Ash couldn't even see her, so there was no way he'd be able to recall her if she fell. As a pokemon, Plume was extremely durable, but a fall like that could very well break her wing or cause other serious damage.

The trainer gave a sigh of relief as he heard Plume weakly shriek an affirmative. Now that his sight was slowly being restored to him, he glanced at Tangela. It had at least a dozen vines out, all in a last hope to defeat Plume. Ash noted that it was sagging slightly, which gave his suspicions about Hyper Wave's energy cost more merit.

He managed to make out Tangela's form suddenly flying backward as a blade of compressed air slammed into it, but he also caught its dexterous vines snap toward a large, dark shape and drag it to the ground. His fists clenched and a scowl marred his face as he heard Plume screech out in pain before she went silent.

"Recall your Pidgeot." Erika said in cool amusement. "Tangela has it wrapped up. She won't mind slamming it."

Ash bit back a venomous retort as he did what she said. Had Plume made any sort of noise, he would have tried to have her fight back. There might not have been any truth to Erika's words had the flying-type been capable of responding.

"You did wonderful." He whispered to the pokeball. Ash placed it back onto his belt before he unclipped his next choice. It was time to follow through on the promise he'd made to the Chief.

He didn't say anything as Infernus appeared on the field. There was nothing to say. Infernus' furious roar and the heat he could feel from his friend's summoned explosion of lava was all he needed.

"Oh dear." He heard Erika mutter. There was trepidation in her normally gentle voice. "Tangela, Ancient Power."

"Fire Blast." He growled, a good bit of cold anger leaking its way into his tone. Ash wouldn't deny that he was feeling a bit vindictive toward Tangela. With how weak it was, Infernus probably only needed to get near it to cause it to faint. A Fire Blast would give him a measure of revenge for Plume, however.

His vision was clear enough for him to make out the bright light that suffused Infernus' front as he spat a roaring fire ball out of his mouth. It crackled angrily as it ignited through the air before it hit Tangela's tired form and exploded in a loud roar. Ash grinned as he felt the intense heat even through the psychic barriers. Tangela's form simply fell over, its body full of glowing embers.

"It seems that you have improved more than I have." Erika remarked drily as she recalled her smoldering Tangela. She stepped out of the Gym Leader's box and gracefully walked over to him. Ash wiped the scowl off of his face. It was always best to be polite. "I suppose there wouldn't be much use for you coming back in the future, would there?"

"I doubt it." Ash replied tersely as he silently recalled Infernus. Erika ignored the tension in his voice and simply smiled, although it was difficult to discern thanks to the stars still twinkling in his vision. They had mostly faded, but there were quite a few hanging on.

Erika folded her hands together. They disappeared underneath the sleeves of her kimono. "You are quite the trainer, I admit. Your pokemon are powerful, but they lack grace. That Pidgeot of yours needs training. It was powerful, but now that I've seen your Magmar I expect more."

Ash was silent. He took a deep breath at the slight to Plume and clenched his jaw. There was nothing to be gained from being acidic and rude. "I'll take that into consideration. But I should go. There's a lot to do."

"Be on your way, then." Erika said dismissively. "I should return to my nap."

He nodded and bid her farewell before walking out of the gym. Ash needed to drop Plume off at the Pokemon Center. In the meantime he needed to consider which of his pokemon could use which of the rebooted TMs. They could each gain quite a bit of diversity if he used them.

XX

Plume was fine. They just gave her a revive before releasing her to Ash. She had a few bruises, but nothing that would inhibit her fighting. He'd just make sure to be gentle with her for a few days.

"Sneasel, calm down." Ash chided as the dark-type growled and chased after a rattata poking around in the grass. Sneasel hissed quietly and sadly returned to Ash's side. He stared off at his prey and silently retracted his claws, although his fangs were still bared. "Good. If you keep on behaving, I'll let you get your TMs soon."

That excited Sneasel more, and he immediately clambered up onto Ash's back so he could lick the trainer's cheek. Ash laughed and lightly scratched underneath Sneasel's feather. "Calm down, buddy. I need you to stay away from these attacks, alright? I'm not sure how good of control they'll have for the first few attempts."

Sneasel hissed his understanding before he deftly leapt down from Ash's back and raced off toward a pond. Ash grinned, both in amusement over Sneasel's antics and at the fact that they had reached his favored training spot near Celadon.

He glanced over to his left and saw the massive field he had trained Dazed in teleportation at about a quarter of a mile away. Ash smiled fondly at the memories before he checked on Sneasel. The dark-type was entranced by his reflection in the clear, smooth surface of the pond. Sneasel would gently poke his reflection with his claw and jump away when the water shook.

Ash snickered before he began to release his friends. Nidoking appeared first and took his place by Ash's side. The trainer patted his friend's thick shoulder and received a light tap on the chest in return. He smiled before he continued.

Plume cooed at him and hopped over. He gently stroked her glossy crest before she nipped his hat and fluttered up to a branch, one of the few that was capable of supporting her weight. Nidoking's steadying hand kept him from stumbling backward from the intense winds she kicked up.

"Thanks." He told Nidoking before he released Torrent. The gigantic dragon-type bowed his great head to Ash before he levitated to the left of the human. Ash grinned and dipped his own head in return, which brought out a low rumble from Torrent's chest.

Dazed appeared next. Her eyes smiled at Ash before she shuffled over to the shade of a large tree about ten feet away. Ash gave her a friendly nod. That was all she needed as a greeting.

Infernus snorted as he was released and curled up on the ground when he realized there was no opponent to fight. He only took the time to blow a tiny stream of flame at Sneasel, who leapt up in surprise from his staring contest with the water and hissed at Infernus, before he became completely lost to everything save Ash's voice.

Tangrowth hugged Ash before he waddled over to see what Sneasel was doing. Ash suspected that Tangrowth would have a new pastime if he realized that he could see his reflection in the mirror-like surface of the water. He'd grown out of climbing trees every chance he got.

"I've got some more TMs for you." He announced when his friends had focused their attention onto him. Ash figured that he'd tell them about the reactivated TMs when they had gotten used to the ones he had already bought for them. It was dangerous to upload more than two or three TMs at once to a pokemon, and he really didn't want them to focus on learning to use more than one move at once.

The news excited his friends, which wasn't particularly surprising. Most of them had learned the most powerful moves that they would learn naturally in the wild, and the easy addition to their repertoire of attacks would provide them a quick boost in strength.

Ash hurried up and removed the TM case so that things could progress. He glanced up and gave Nidoking a nod before he recalled his friend. The process was quick now that he had performed it several times before, so in just a few seconds Nidoking's pokeball was placed securely into the case's indention.

It glowed a violent purple as the data from the TM was transferred into Nidoking's mind. When the glow of the Poison Jab disk faded away into nothingness, Ash removed Nidoking's pokeball and let his friend out. Nidoking crushed his claws together and grinned as he felt the new knowledge slither through his thoughts.

Next was Plume. Her pokeball glowed a dark, metallic silver for several seconds as she learned Steel Wing. Ash was rather anxious to see just how powerful she could make it. If Plume was able to get some momentum behind her attack, he doubted that even a Rhydon would be able to stand up to her.

Ash went ahead and recalled Torrent. When he was buying TMs he hadn't thought that the dragon-type would receive one, but now that he'd reactivated some his decision had changed.

Torrent's pokeball glowed a light, icy blue as Ice Beam was transferred into his mind. Ash figured that Ice Beam would give him a bit more versatility. Blizzard was all well and good, but it focused too much on brute power and the sheer area it could affect rather than precision. In the Conference, Torrent would need precision against agile foes.

Dazed was after that. Her pokeball simply shined a pure white before he was able to recall it. Fighting-type moves based on the use of energy were much simpler for psychics to learn than the physical moves. It wasn't difficult for her to understand.

A small smile threatened to break his stoic expression as he recalled Infernus and placed him in the TM case. He was extremely glad he'd checked up on Infernus' moves before buying TMs. Ash would never have thought of using this TM on him otherwise.

Infernus' pokeball burned a soft, shining pink as the data for Teleport was transferred into his brain.

Ash laughed wildly when he saw the data take hold. It had actually worked! Infernus wouldn't be so vulnerable to long distance attacks anymore. He didn't expect Infernus to be able to use Teleport very often, but when he did it would be devastating. That kind of mobility would let him easily avoid attacks that would ordinarily hurt him badly, although, again, he expected Infernus to only be able to use it once or twice. His brain just hadn't developed to make use of active psychic powers.

Tangrowth gurgled happily before he was recalled. He knew enough to recognize that he would receive a new attack in a few moments. Ash quickly inserted the Solar Beam TM and watched as his friend's pokeball shined a bright green before returning to its ordinary coloration.

The grass-type hopped up and down excitedly when he was released, but calmed down when Ash raised a hand. "Slow down, buddy. We still need to test it out."

Nidoking stepped up when Ash nodded at him. "You know what to do. Poison Jab!"

His friend snarled and stepped forward. Nidoking's large, dull claws glowed purple as poison began to leak out of the surrounding flesh and covered them in a clear sheen of venom. A few drops of it fell onto the grass below, which rapidly turned brown and shriveled.

"Good." Ash said with satisfaction. He crossed his arms. Nidoking could technically learn the attack without a TM, but it was much easier this way. His body had simply developed to a point to where attacks his previous evolutions could learn were much more difficult to learn. The improvements on his physiology weren't without their drawbacks.

Ash glanced about the area for a sufficiently large boulder Plume could practice on. He laughed when he saw a familiar, deformed rock – the same one Infernus had practiced Brick Break on before he melted most of it. "Plume, Steel Wing."

Plume shrieked before she took to the air. Ash patiently waited, and he wasn't disappointed when he saw her large, powerful form in a blurred dive. Her wings were outstretched, and both glowed brightly with a fierce white light as she focused energy into them.

She carved straight through the boulder. Ash blinked in surprise as the top half went flying, spraying rubble and dust throughout the area as Plume took to the skies once more.

He hadn't expected it to be that powerful. It wouldn't do the same thing to a rock-type, of course, but at the very least it would let Plume actually hurt them. They wouldn't be practically invincible against the great bird anymore. She had a weapon.

"Good girl!" He called up. Plume shrieked back in joy, although she never came down. She simply circled high above them, exultant in her new strength. Ash looked over at Torrent. "Ice Beam on the boulder."

Ash shivered as all of the warmth in the area drained away. Torrent was covered in a veil of wispy frost as icy energy collected in front of his snout, his scarlet eyes bright and shining with glee at the amount of energy drawn into the attack. Infernus glanced up from his nap in annoyance and rapidly beat his tail to create some comforting warmth. He spat a bit of flame, but Nidoking casually stepped in front of it.

Five arcs of bright, icy energy shot forward with perfect precision, born from Torrent's natural skill and the long practice of firing jets of water. Each landed on the sliced boulder perfectly and covered it with a thick shell of craggy ice. Ash barely had time to blink before Infernus angrily bathed the rock in flame, which broke the boulder down to nothing but hot, sluggish liquid in a matter of seconds.

He sighed and motioned for Torrent and Dazed to put it out. Torrent quickly shot a weak Hydro Pump at it to cool it down before Dazed enclosed it within a psychic shell. Ash nodded his thanks before he rolled his eyes at Infernus and continued.

"Now that that's over with, Dazed, Focus Blast on that boulder." He said drily as he pointed at another large, moss-covered stone. Dazed nodded and silently placed her hands together. A ball of blue energy, powerful enough to have a smaller, white ball at the center, formed between the appendages.

Dazed easily pushed her hands outward. The energy ball followed her motion and slammed into the boulder at an incredible speed, almost too fast for Ash to follow. Ash was rather pleased when the Focus Blast caused the rock to explode outward, although it did make him flinch out of reflex. Dazed was quick enough to foresee the result of her attack and erected a psychic barrier around the boulder the instant the Focus Blast had been released.

"Thank you." Ash said gratefully. He glanced over at Infernus. "Your turn, Infernus. Teleport."

Ash could see the surprise in his friends' eyes as Infernus leapt up to his feet. His eyes were black with amusement as he stood on his pile of smoldering ash. Infernus closed his eyes and roared before he flitted out of existence. Moments later he appeared in front of Ash with a cloak of flames encasing his body. His friend looked tired, but was too exultant in his success to care.

Infernus looked up into the sky and roared as he shot a stream of flickering blue flame into the atmosphere, leaving black smoke lingering in its wake.

"Good." The trainer said with a maniacal grin. He could only imagine the kind of damage Infernus was capable of now. That mobility would certainly be put to good use. But for now he just glanced about at his friends. "Tangrowth, it's your turn."

The large grass-type made another odd noise before he waddled over next to Ash. All he had to do was point at another of the massive boulders that decorated the area for Tangrowth to know what his target was.

Tangrowth closed his big, friendly eyes. Particles of energy slowly gathered in front of his face and slowly coalesced into a great ball of energy. As soon as it grew to a sufficient size, he launched the powerful attack straight into the boulder.

Ash hid his eyes in pain as the solar energy tore through the air and left the area a few degrees warmer than before. It was an incredibly huge amount of energy that Tangrowth had just harnessed, and it showed in what had happened to the rock: the boulder was shattered by the concussive force behind the energy blast, and small fragments of the stone were fused together.

"That was amazing!" Ash exclaimed with a maniacal grin. He patted Tangrowth's arm and got a hug in return. The trainer laughed wildly, he could only imagine the kind of enemies Tangrowth could face now. He calmed after a few moments of laughing, which had attracted odd, worried stares from his friends. Ash smiled at them before he began to give out instructions. "Everyone, go practice. You need to master those moves."

"Infernus, Dazed, stay with me." Ash said as the rest of his friends wandered off. Nidoking stayed with him as well, a large, powerful presence at his side. Poison Jab was rather simple for him to learn, and it didn't require much space to use safely. "Dazed, I need you to teach Infernus how to teleport. Make him efficient."

Dazed nodded and glanced at Infernus. The fire-type snorted and followed Dazed with powerful, smoldering strides. Ash trusted Dazed to choke out any fires that sprung up. He'd be there to supervise, regardless.

"Sneasel, come over here!" Ash called out. In mere moments the lithe creature had rushed over to the trainer and leapt up onto his back. He winced in surprise as Sneasel roughly hooked onto his shoulders, but didn't show any other sign of pain. "Nidoking, I need you to teach Sneasel how to perform Ice Beam. Get him ready for it."

Nidoking grunted and clapped Ash on the shoulder before he snarled at Sneasel. The dark-type hissed back and cheerfully leapt from Ash's shoulders to Nidoking's thick armor. It had enough segments that his wickedly sharp claws could easily hang onto it.

Ash watched his best friend lumber off to the pond before he turned and walked over to where he assumed Dazed and Infernus would be practicing. Perhaps the field would be somewhat dangerous for a rather powerful, very temperamental fire-type to be training in, but Dazed and Plume could keep it under control.

He set his face into a determined frown. There was work to be done, and not a lot of time to do it. Ash expected this to be their only day spent in Celadon. The trainer wanted to head to a new destination the next day.

XX

Ash took one last look at Celadon's sprawling suburbs, the large buildings of the city itself prominent against the city's skyline. It was a nice city, he reflected, even if it did contain his least favorite gym leader. Still, Erika herself wasn't too bad. She just didn't have the right mindset for battling Team Rocket and could be a bit condescending.

He knew he'd be aching for the idyllic city soon enough, however. His next goal was Saffron City, which he wasn't particularly fond of. Ash had several reasons for returning to the most influential city in Kanto. For one, he wanted to check on Sabrina and see her psychics. Perhaps they could drudge up useful information about the Creature from his mind, although he didn't actually know if that was within their abilities. The trainer was hardly an expert on human psychics.

The other reason probably wouldn't come into play. Ash really wanted a rematch with Sabrina. His second gym battle with the powerful psychic had been amongst the most intense of his career, rivalled only by his battles with Pierce and Giovanni.

While he doubted he would be able to face her anytime soon, he might as well drop in to say hello. It had been a month and a half since the battle with the Creature, so she should be out of her coma by now. The news hadn't said anything about her condition, but he'd missed a lot while he was travelling.

Ash knew that his friends were ready for Sabrina, even if she had trained extensively before her coma. None of his friends were equal to Alakazam, but together they would make it fall. They'd trained hard over the months since their battle and had shed blood and sweat in their effort to become the best. Perhaps he wasn't there yet, but his friends had put themselves on the path.

He glanced out over the dusty, worn trail. Sneasel had already raced down it and looked to be chasing a Raticate. That probably wouldn't turn out too well, but he'd leave them be for now. It was part of the learning process for the young pokemon.

Tangrowth, who he decided to let out and roam the area alongside him, gurgled in concern and used his powerful vines to chase after the two squabbling pokemon. Ash and Nidoking just rolled their eyes and started walking.

XX

The journey was as easy as ever. Most trainers had begun to stay in the cities so they could repeatedly challenge the more difficult gym leaders until they obtained victory, so the roads were a bit more deserted than usual. Others had retired to popular training areas so that they could battle other trainers.

It all showed just how soon the Conference really was. Back when he'd first began his journey it had felt like it would never arrive, but he was able to feel it looming closer and closer. The Conference still wasn't for another four months, but every trainer that wanted to go, which was a vast majority of them, had begun to buckle down.

He looked forward to the Conference. Ash was secure in his skills, although he knew he had a long way to go before he was a Master. Bruno had proved that when he'd casually defeated Ash's entire team without trying. But he knew he was strong. It showed in the legions of defeated trainers he left in his wake. The Conference was just his chance to prove it.

But for now he had to focus on travelling and becoming stronger. Saffron might not be the perfect place to prove that, especially since he still wasn't sure about Sabrina's condition, but at least it put him at a crossroads to pursue that goal.

If he headed south he could be at Vermillion in about a week, probably less if he hurried. That would let him head down to Fuschia's rugged territory, where he could certainly find strong trainers. Or else he could just head to the city itself and battle Koga again. He knew the man would put up a good fight. After that, perhaps he could try the Safari Zone. While he was happy with his team, it never hurt to pick up an extra friend.

To the north was Cerulean. Ash wasn't sure why he would go there. It was full of ponds, lakes, and other aquatic bodies that he could train Torrent in, but Torrent didn't need it. He could train anywhere now. Besides, the Sensational Sisters didn't provide quite the draw to him as they did to Jonathan.

There was no way he was returning to Celadon for a while. Erika didn't attract many powerful trainers, and there were too many Rockets lurking in the city for him to stay safe. Ash doubted that Team Rocket knew what he had done to them, but he'd rather avoid them in an urban setting. Team Rocket was laughably weak in a straight fight, aside from Executives and Elite Agents, but their strength was in the shadows. It was difficult to defend against a threat when they outnumbered you ten to one and ambushed you.

Ash wouldn't be heading to the east anytime soon. The only center of civilization was Lavender Town, where ghosts walked the world without fear. It was a nice town, and he wouldn't mind paying his respects to fallen pokemon, but Lavender Town wasn't high on his list of priorities.

A ghost-type would be nice, but they were too difficult to control and potentially malicious. It could take him months to get the specter to see him as its equal, much less its trainer. They were belligerent. Ghosts' unruly behavior was notorious, which was one of the reasons Agatha was so highly respected. Only dragons were more difficult to train.

But his main concern with the east and northeast of Kanto rested in the freak storm that was slowly gaining strength in the area. It had expanded to be a steady forty miles wide, and experts were baffled. At least it had stopped moving. The storm had centered on a single area.

Ash suspected the Creature had something to do with it, although the only reason he could fathom was to attract electric-types, which were still migrating en masse to the storm. It was just too powerful for a normal pokemon, or even a large group of them, to be the cause.

He stopped thinking as he walked into the busy Pokemon Center. There were at least a hundred trainers stuffed into the large building, which made him think Sabrina was conscious again. Saffron City wasn't much of a draw for trainers otherwise. Silph Co. was getting some attention thanks to word of some top-secret project being leaked, but nobody knew enough about it to bother travelling to the metropolis.

The trainer tapped the shoulder of the person in front of him when he stepped into the line. It seemed that they would have a few minutes to wait before they reached the counter, so Ash figured it was best to get some information.

"Yeah?" The short, blonde trainer replied with an annoyed grunt. "Whaddya want?"

"Why are so many people here?" Ash questioned. He pointed at the masses of people standing around, laughing, and watching television.

"You know the gym leader, Sabrina?" The teen questioned. Ash nodded. "Well, she's in that coma. But the League can't allow the gym to shut down, so they just shoved the top psychic at the gym into the position until they can get a real replacement."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "So they're just swarming here to get the badge?"

"Well, yeah. It's the only chance most of us have to get the Marsh Badge. I'm not gonna let a good opportunity go to waste." The teen shrugged. He looked at Ash seriously for the first time and noticed Sneasel, who flashed him a malicious grin. "Wow, that thing would tear through the guy they have working it right now. You should hit the gym tomorrow."

"I already have the badge." Ash informed him. The teen just looked at him in disbelief before he shrugged and turned back to the female trainer he was talking to before. He couldn't make out any of their words, although he made out a sarcastic tone and a few amused giggles.

Sneasel growled with impatience and began to unsheathe and retract his claws in a quick pattern. Ash just sighed when he realized that he would be dealing with a very bored Sneasel for the next few minutes. His friend didn't mind crowds very much, since the dark-type usually took it as a chance to steal everything he could reach, although Ash made sure that never actually worked out, but there wasn't anything exciting going on.

Nurse Joy looked at him oddly when he finally reached the counter. Sneasel was perched on top of his hat and wrapped around his head, since he'd finally gotten too big to stay on Ash's hat easily. "Can I help you?"

"Just a room." Ash requested. Sneasel snickered at something and started poking the top of Ash's head with his paw, which made Ash scowl in annoyance. Nurse Joy just seemed vaguely amused as she handed over a card key. "Thank you. Have a good day."

When he left the line, the first thing he did was pull Sneasel off of his head. The dark-type growled, but obediently clung to his back instead. Ash sighed in relief when the annoying taps were gone and slipped his key into his pocket.

"Could you stay off my head?" He directed at Sneasel. The dark-type snickered, but didn't do anything else. Ash sighed. "Whatever. At least you're just annoying me."

Sneasel tapped the back of his head in agreement. Ash sighed again and readjusted his pack before he left the Pokemon Center. The dark-type hissed in annoyance as he was knocked off balance and forced to cling onto the back of Ash's shirt tightly, but just continued to poke Ash as a form of revenge.

XX

He had a fond smile on his face as he stepped into the simple beauty of the Saffron City gym. Its gentle, sweeping architecture seemed to welcome him in with a pulse of familiarity as he crossed the threshold. The psychics were not in the atrium when he arrived, which was a bit odd.

"Hello, Trainer Ketchum." An old man with a short, well-trimmed gray beard said to him. Ash snapped his gaze to the side, where the man had seemingly stepped out of the nowhere. The old man raised a hand in a placating gesture, causing his soft blue robe to ripple like water. "I apologize if I startled you. Please, follow me."

Ash did so, albeit with a degree of suspicion. It was odd that there wouldn't be a single psychic in the atrium. They seemed to tend to the gym itself. "Are you the gym leader?"

"Temporary gym leader, Trainer Ketchum." The Psychic said gravely. Ash couldn't find it in him to be surprised that the old man knew his name. He watched as the Psychic gently waved his hand when they approached a large, shimmering door. It smoothly slid open underneath the psychic influence. "Lady Sabrina will be returned to her power soon enough. She has awakened, but she is still weak."

His face was split by a grin. "That's great news! Do you know when she'll be better?"

"Soon." The Psychic replied enigmatically. Ash sighed at the answer. Psychics weren't known for being upfront, as he'd learned through his experiences with the Saffron gym leader. "She has told us to bring you to her."

"How long has she been out of her coma?" Ash asked, a curious note in his tone. Everyone he'd spoken to seemed to be under the misconception that Sabrina was still unconscious.

"Since yesterday. Her body is weak, but her mind bursts with vigor." The Psychic revealed as he opened another set of doors. Ash could feel the temperature grow colder as they continued through the long, smooth halls of the gym. "She is drained, but she is aware. Her mind has recuperated quite well from the shock – the Creature, I believe you call it? – inflicted upon her. When we received her and her apprentice, their minds were broken. Their wounds have been healed for the most part."

Ash frowned worriedly. "How is Will?"

"He rose three days ago. The Creature saw him as an afterthought to Lady Sabrina, thus he was defeated without difficulty. Lady Sabrina had to be broken." The Psychic replied in an eerily calm manner as they turned left into a room.

Two children, dressed in the flowing robes of Sabrina's acolytes, stared at him in awe as he entered. They suddenly clutched their foreheads and stared up at Ash with agonized eyes. Ash stepped backward in shock as their eyes released a steady stream of icy blue energy, the same color as the Creature's.

_Burning blue eyes stared coldly at him from behind an inky black visor, energy no mortal should control swirling around the Creature in a vortex as the world –_

Sneasel hissed and touched him directly with a soft paw, which negated the foreign psychic influence that forced the flashback. Ash breathed heavily and silently thanked Sneasel for his assistance. A light sheen of sweat covered his body from the memory – or was it a nightmare?

He reached forward to help them when he had gotten over his shock, but the Psychic held him back with a deceptively strong hand. A moment later the two women vanished into nothingness. Ash glanced up at the Psychic, whose worn face was suddenly tired. His body trembled, as though the old man had just completed some strenuous exercise.

"I apologize." He rasped as he slowly shuffled forward, the Psychic's age apparent on him for the first time. Ash walked beside him in concern, ready to help the older man if he needed it. "They were not supposed to be here. Your mind was marked by the Creature in ways I cannot explain. Only Lady Sabrina properly understands it."

"Could you try and explain it?" Ash asked. He lightly scratched underneath Sneasel's feather, which made the dark-type purr in content.

The Psychic sighed. "The Creature is powerful enough to leave a mark on your mind simply by using its power near you. All of the beings present during the battle have the same signature branded upon their mind. Lady Sabrina and Will were powerful enough to remove it themselves, and those with the mental fortitude can ignore it. I can say no more."

Well, that explained why the man hadn't started glowing the moment he'd seen Ash. It wasn't too much of a surprise that the man was able to protect himself from the signature. He was the strongest psychic at the gym apart from Sabrina, at least if the blonde trainer had told him the truth.

His guide opened one last set of delicately carved doors. "Go in. Sabrina awaits you. Recall the dark-type. It will disrupt the healing."

Ash nodded and recalled the annoyed Sneasel, but uncertainty grew in his mind. He assumed that Sabrina's body had been healed, but was her mind back to normal? It would be disturbing to see a different Sabrina.

Nevertheless, Ash stepped into the room. As he stepped in, a cold weight settled onto his shoulders. It was different than the energy that permeated the gym itself.

The floor was marble, and the walls were of the same silvery material as the rest of the gym. While it was beautiful, the room wasn't homely. It was cold, more like an office than a room.

The only furniture inside of the room was a small, clean bed. Two psychics sat by it with closed eyes. Energy gently pulsed beneath, but they didn't acknowledge him in anyway. Both women were still as he slowly walked into the room.

Ash frowned when he saw Sabrina. She was pale underneath the covers. Her presence was usually imposing, even when she did not intend for it to be so. Sabrina was one of the most feared gym leaders in Kanto, the greatest human psychic in the world and amongst the strongest people Ash knew of.

Now she just looked small.

He stepped closer. Ash still had no idea what he was supposed to do. It would have been nice for the Psychic to give him an instruction other than to simply walk in. The trainer glanced down at the psychics beside Sabrina again.

One suddenly clutched the sides of her head. Ash flinched as her eyes suddenly burned an icy blue, a far cry from the soft, soothing pink of before. Memories and nightmares, a few one and the same, flashed through his mind as –

_The roar of water and the screams of –_

He fought it back, but only found himself in reality long enough to realize that the other psychic had succumbed to the dark influence he brought with him as well, although –

_Icy blue eyes stared at him behind the visor, careless of the boy in front of it, focused only upon the Champion behind him. It raised its arm, alit with energy, and –_

Ash scowled and forced it back again. The energy of the room pulsed as it became stronger and stronger, driven by the raging emotions in the area as well as the power inscribed upon Ash's mind. His eyes widened in horror as he saw Sabrina's closed eyes burn with the same icy blue energy. That meant –

_Pain. The Creature's cold, taunting voice wracked his brain as it tore his mind apart simply by making contact. Energy coalesced into the Creature's hand, bright and more powerful than anything Ash had ever seen, and it seemed bored as it prepared to –_

He gasped as reality solidified around him. Ash numbly realized he was on the cold marble floor and stood up on trembling limbs. The effect wasn't just psychological. Being touched by the psychic power was as much physiological trauma as it was mental in this case.

Ash habitually brushed nonexistent dirt off of his pants as he regained his footing. He drew in a long, trembling breath before he opened his eyes. The trainer hadn't even realized that he'd squeezed them shut.

Both psychics were crumpled on the ground, he noted. Ash's hand uneasily moved to Dazed's pokeball. She would be the most help in this situation. But he remembered what was far more important: Sabrina, in her vulnerable state, had been warped by the signature the Creature had unconsciously branded him with.

Guilt rose in his stomach as he realized what might have happened. He couldn't force himself to look at Sabrina for a few seconds. Her mind had been recovering, and he had exposed her to the influence of the same monster that had done this to her in the first place. If he'd set her back…

When he finally managed to look at Sabrina, he was surprised, to say the least. She was not curled up in pain and confusion or even unconscious. The gym leader was awake, although she looked exhausted.

"Wha—?" He began, confused. Ash had no idea about the events that had just occurred. Logic told him that Sabrina should be hurt right now, or at least confused.

"Hello, Ash." Sabrina said monotonously as she propped herself up on weak arms. Her eyes flashed a bright, warm purple for a moment. Her hair, slightly ruffled from the bed, smoothed out. Aside from the slight atrophying of her limbs and body, which had somehow been slowed to barely noticeable levels, she looked as she always had. "I apologize, my vision has been erratic as of late, else I would have been awake already."

He blinked. Ash began to open his mouth to ask his questions, but Sabrina seamlessly cut him off.

"They assist my recovery." Sabrina explained. "To resist your brand was a test. It is a shame they were overcome. I had prepared them for this moment and warned them of the difficulty that lay in resisting the brand."

"You knew what this would happen?" Ash asked. His head was spinning. Dealing with Sabrina was never easy.

She gave him a drily amused smile. Ash figured she knew what he had thought. "I know many things, past, future, and present. Without the physical world to distract me, the sight is amongst the most trivial of my powers."

Ash frowned. Did she know how the raid at Viridian would end?

"No. The Creature," she said, adopting Ash's name for it seamlessly, "warped my vision. It is too powerful. I knew that a being of immense strength would be present to brand us with its power, but I did not know how it would end. The Creature disrupts the laws when it acts."

"What laws?" Ash demanded. He winced at his tone. It was rather rude, and Sabrina didn't deserve it.

"I have said too much." She replied softly, a bit of regret entering her tone. Sabrina lowered herself back onto the bed. Her bright red eyes were weary. "Know that the Creature is more powerful than you believe. It is restrained at the moment, both by technology and its convictions."

He looked at Sabrina disbelievingly, even if he knew she spoke the truth. Ash couldn't picture it being stronger. It had effortlessly defeated the greatest trainers the League could throw at it. His blood ran cold at the thought of it being capable of that while held back. But how did –

"It entered my mind." Sabrina stated matter-of-factly, although her face paled at the memory. It was one of the few obvious displays of emotion Ash could remember from the powerful psychic. "I received glances, for lack of a better term, at its consciousness. Information it couldn't hold back. The Creature is powerful, but inexperienced."

Ash looked at Sabrina eagerly, ravenous for information about the Creature. Maybe she'd picked up a weak point, or some way to destroy it.

"No." Sabrina said with a shake of her head. The energy in the room pulsed with her regret. "Nothing so direct. It will only be of use to the Champion and the League."

He nodded with disappointment. The lack of information was disheartening, to say the least. Ash noticed that Sabrina's eyes were dipping with exhaustion. She might have emerged from the coma, but her body was still frail. The gym leader needed to rest. "I should go."

Sabrina didn't seem surprised. "Yes. I must rest and recover my strength. Team Rocket encroaches upon my borders, and I will not be as lenient with them as before."

Ash blinked. He remembered the images released into the news of the Rockets that had invaded Silph Co. a few months ago, right after he'd left the city for the first time. Quite a few had permanent brain damage, and most were hospitalized for weeks before their trials could occur. The trainer could only imagine what she would do to them now.

Her lips curled upward, despite the stern set of her face. She didn't remark on his thoughts, however. Sabrina simply laid back in her bed and glanced at him with impassive red eyes. "Prepare yourself, Ash Ketchum. The future is unclear."

He didn't bother asking her to elaborate. From the few encounters he'd had with Sabrina and other psychics, they were frustratingly vague. Ash would only be able to guess at her meaning until the events actually came to pass.

Sabrina's lips twitched again, but her eyes finally closed. Ash took one last glance at the psychics still on the cold marble floor. They were beginning to wake up. He figured that he'd just tell the temporary gym leader what had occurred before making his way to the Pokemon Center.

Before he left the room and the cold energy that dominated it, Sabrina spoke once more. "I apologize that I am not in sufficient condition to conduct a gym battle. I enjoyed our last match."

Ash glanced back and nodded. There was no need to tell Sabrina that he would return to battle her again. She already knew the answer better than he did.

He found the Psychic waiting outside the doors. The old man frowned when he saw Sabrina's attendants struggling to rise, but didn't say anything. Apparently Sabrina hadn't seen fit to warn him.

"She is awake?" The Psychic questioned. Ash nodded, and the man smiled in satisfaction. "It is good to know that Lady Sabrina's sight was not diminished by her injuries. Soon, everything shall fall into place."

The trainer nodded distractedly. He took one last glance at the cold room he had left behind before he followed the Psychic out of the gym. It was a shame that he hadn't been able to battle Sabrina again, but he suspected that it was for the best. Ash only wanted to battle Sabrina when they were both at their peak.

Besides, Sabrina's warnings echoed in his mind. He needed to be ready, and it was hard to do that if most of his friends were unconscious.

XX

Ash glanced over at his friends as he dialed his mother's number. It had been a few days since he'd called her, and she was probably waiting on him. He'd be leaving the next day anyway, so he might as well call his mom while he wasn't dirty and tired.

His friends were arrayed around his room. Nidoking was curled up on the floor beside him, although his bulky form barely fit in between the wall and the bed. The poison-type's large head rested contentedly on the bed, right next to Ash. He idly patted Nidoking's tough hide as the PokeNav rang.

Torrent levitated by the window that looked out onto the bright city. He barely fit in the room, but they managed to squeeze him in. The dragon-type alternated his gaze from the entrancing lights and sounds of the bustling city outside and sadly at the large aquarium in the room that was still much too small to fit him.

Dazed, as usual, stood in the darkest corner of the room. Her humanoid form was barely visible, although her long white mane gave her presence away. She watched Ash carefully, but just as much of her attention was focused upon holding herself back from leaving and numbing her hunger.

Hypno had adapted well to cities and urban life. They had a massive supply of sustenance available in the form of the thousands of dreamers present and could slip in and out of areas with ease. In massive cities like Saffron, they and drowzee were amongst the most common pokemon, although their numbers had dwindled after dark-type pokemon like houndour and houndoom took up residence.

He knew that Dazed had particular trouble resisting the temptation. She had only fed on the other members of their team for more than a month, which had started to take its toll on the powerful psychic. Her powers were still overwhelmingly strong, but they were waning.

Sneasel had begun to venture away from Ash on more occasions and had even begun to slip away from the trainer at night to sleep on his lonesome, so he hoped Dazed's needs would be filled soon. If Sneasel decided to sleep over with Tangrowth as it looked like he would, then Dazed would be fully restored by the time the team arrived at Vermillion.

Tangrowth, as he'd mentioned, was lying back against a wall. His saucer-like eyes were closed, which left nothing but a gaping void between his vines. He gurgled softly in his sleep, and some of the vines curled around Sneasel protectively, although the dark-type hissed in annoyance at the contact.

"Ash!" His mother exclaimed. She clasped her hands together in excitement. "It's been so long. How are you? Are you in Saffron?"

"I'm good, and I made it to Saffron today." Ash replied with an easy grin. "I'll be leaving tomorrow. Has anything happened over in Pallet?"

His mother shook her head. "It's been normal. Professor Oak's been stressed out of his mind lately, though. Between Team Rocket," her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits, although they returned to their normal shape in a few moments, "and that project for Silph Co. he hasn't had any free time. He's only off for lunch."

Ash hummed in agreement. He could understand the stress the Pokemon Professor was going through, if not the full degree. Professor Oak was still incredibly important in the League, even if he didn't work directly for them, and probably spent quite a bit of time helping with the Rocket situation.

The Professor could probably destroy the entire organization if he ever met them in a fair fight, he thought as he remembered the pokemon that had appeared at Nidoking's evolution party. As the images of the massive Charizard and even larger Dragonite flickered through his mind, Ash wondered again just how far Professor Oak had gone.

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you that I'll be gone for a week in December, from the fifth until the twelfth." His mother spoke up. That caught Ash's attention, and he looked at his mother's image with confusion. "I'm going to visit Spencer and Molly over in Greenfield."

Ash nodded in understanding. It had been a while since either he or his mother had seen the family friends, and he'd heard something about Spencer's wife disappearing a few weeks before he'd started his journey. His mother and her constantly upbeat attitude would probably help the two out a lot.

"Are you sending Bruiser and Seeker up to Professor Oak's?" Ash asked as concern for his friends sprung up. He thought he saw Seeker flutter around in the background, although the motion was too fast for him to be sure.

His mother smiled. "Yes. Professor Oak said he'd be happy to take them! He said Pikachu and Arcanine were having some trouble with a few mankey and primeape in the area, so Bruiser'll be a great help."

"That sounds good. I'll try and get to Pallet Town before you leave for Greenfield." Ash promised. He didn't know his schedule yet, but if all else failed he could call Professor Oak and get Alakazam to help him. Oak had said he was trying to keep her from becoming complacent.

"Just make sure to call me before you get there!" His mother laughed. A smile made its way on his face. "But don't interrupt your journey on my account. I know these last few months are really important for trainers."

He nodded and made sure to remember her words. Ash would make sure to get to Pallet Town, even if he didn't really have to. By that point it would have been three months since he'd seen his mother or Professor Oak in person.

"Have you been alright lately?" His mother suddenly asked, concern evident in her voice. "You've been looking worn down ever since…you know."

Ash frowned. He hadn't mentioned the disruptive nightmares to his mother, especially since they'd been less and less frequent. He certainly hadn't thought that they'd had any noticeable effect on him, least of all his appearance. While he really didn't want to lie to his mother, he didn't want to make her worry either. She had enough going on.

A ring on his PokeNav saved him from that dilemma. Ash frowned when he saw it was an unfamiliar number, although the identification code showed that it was from the League. "Mom, could you hold on for a minute? Someone's calling me."

"Of course! I'll be waiting." She said cheerily. Ash was sure that she wouldn't be nearly as upbeat if she knew that the call was from the League. His mother was rather terrifying when they were mentioned. She wasn't happy with them enlisting Ash to help out with the Rocket problem.

"Hello?" He asked as the screen cut to a rather impressive office. It wasn't familiar, although he had to admit the rather impressive collection of draconic artifacts such as fangs, scales, and claws tipped him off to the caller's identity. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw who was sitting in the large, stone throne behind the desk. "Lance?"

The Champion grinned wildly. He looked much better than when Ash had last seen him. There was no evidence of the bandages and casts he was covered in at the hospital, and everything about him seemed robust and powerful. Ash saw a small, pudgy creature with dark blue coloration and a red underbelly sitting on his desk. It growled contentedly as Lance absentmindedly scratched the large fin on its head.

"Hello, Ash." Lance said with a friendly nod. He wore a formal, crisp uniform, which Ash recognized as the one he wore during formal League battles. His cape still hung around his shoulders, which unconsciously brought a smirk to Ash's face as he remembered the advertisement. "Have you been well?"

Ash nodded. "I'm good. Everything's calmed down a lot since Viridian." He grimaced. Memories ran through his head, which made his heart rate skyrocket before he took a few deep, calming breaths.

"If only I could say the same." Lance sighed. He brightened up after a few moments, although his demeanor remained serious. "You're in Saffron, correct?" When Ash nodded, he continued. "Good. When you're done there, could you go to Vermillion?"

"Sure." Ash replied. He was heading there anyways. Fuschia was his next target, and Vermillion was the most reliable way to get there unless he took a boat. "What do you need me to do?"

A frown crossed Lance's angular face. "Surge is going to investigate the storm in northeast Kanto. He needs assistance, but I can't spare any League forces. I assume that you are up to the task?"

"Of course!" Ash exclaimed. He might have a few misgivings about the source of the storm, but he was willing to help however he could. At the very least it might distract the Creature from protecting Team Rocket – if it was even the force behind the storm. "Do you need me to teleport there?"

"No. Surge still has his own preparations to make." Lance explained. "Try to get there within a week. By then Surge should be ready. The storm is merely an oddity at the moment. Should it become threatening, I will have Sabrina teleport you."

Ash dipped his head in understanding. "I'll leave tomorrow."

"Thank you. When you return with Surge, I'll add twenty thousand dollars into your trainer account." Lance's eyes glinted with amusement for a moment. "Make sure to call me when the job is complete. I have an opportunity for you that you won't want to miss out on. Good luck."

The trainer's expression sparked with interest, but before he could ask about the opportunity, Lance cut the call. He stared at the screen before he called his mother back. Ash wasn't sure how good of a conversationalist he would be after the Champion's call, but he could at least listen.

XX

Sneasel snickered as he froze the water in Ash's water bottle, and the noise grew even louder when he poked Ash painfully in the side with his sharp, hooked claws. Ash, who had been about to drink, sighed in annoyance. He looked over at Infernus, who had curled up in a pile of smoldering ashes. Before he could get the fire-type over to discipline Sneasel, he suddenly realized that Sneasel was about to get his comeuppance in a different manner.

Dazed had started forward in annoyance at his little prank, but Sneasel disappeared in a burst of darkness. She met Ash's eyes, and he gave her a short nod. Sneasel had been pushing the limits lately. He had been vicious toward most of the team since they'd set out for Vermillion the day before, and had even reacted with hostility to Ash.

It looked like he was starting to go through puberty. Pokemon went through it rather fast since they were mostly developed within their egg, but it would be a dangerous month or two. Sneasel would enter a state of hyper-aggressiveness for the duration, although it could be mostly curbed if he nipped it in the bud right now. And after all the trouble Sneasel had put Dazed through, he figured she should be the one to do it.

His other symptoms included a minor increase in muscle and bone density, which would put him up with the other adults of his species and make him a bit tougher and faster. It would also make him ready for evolution into a Weavile, although Ash didn't see that happening anytime soon.

For Sneasel to evolve, he'd either require a Razor Claw, which was an artificially produced item designed to trigger the signals in his cells that would trigger evolution, or train for several months in an extremely cold area. He'd probably go with the Razor Claw when he thought Sneasel was ready. After his experience in the Seafoam Islands, he had no desire to be in the cold.

But that could come later. For now, Sneasel needed to be taught his place. Ash had been fairly stern in disciplining him over the month and a half since Sneasel had hatched, but that wouldn't be enough to curb his aggressiveness during his short puberty. As loath as he was to admit it, he'd have to be harsh.

Sneasel silently stalked Dazed. He gracefully circled around Infernus and his ash pile before he suddenly dashed toward Dazed with his claws unsheathed. The dark-type hissed as he leapt at her, only to sink his claws into thin air.

Ash crossed his arms and watched with a sad frown as Dazed controlled a log with Psychic and hurled it into the aggressive dark-type. Sneasel yelped when he was suddenly hit and went flying, but he managed to hook onto a tree and growl at Dazed before he disappeared.

Dazed was too fast. As Sneasel leapt out of the shadows behind her, she teleported a few feet away, right in front of Tangrowth's sleeping form. The others had begun to stir from their slumber now, so the battle had an audience.

Sneasel hissed and blew a gust of icy air towards Dazed. The frost left small crystals of ice in its wake, most of which were carried along with the breeze. Apparently the dark-type expected Dazed to teleport away, so he began a quick rush in order to attack the psychic.

The dark-type was rather surprised when Dazed chose to take the attack head on. She simply closed her hands together, formed a ball of iridescent blue energy, and shot the Focus Blast straight through the gust of air. Sneasel whined in pain as the fighting-type attack slammed into his small body and exploded.

Ash covered his eyes, but Dazed had raised several shields around the rest of the team so that they wouldn't be hit by the blast. Nidoking grunted in annoyance at the bright psychic energy and sat up, although he stayed close to Ash. It was good that the fight wouldn't be too destructive since Sneasel didn't have any powerful attacks yet. If it was, Nidoking would have put a stop to it already.

Sneasel slammed into a tree thanks to the concussive blast. He growled pitiably as he struggled to his feet, but Ash could see fear in his narrowed scarlet eyes. It had taken much longer than Ash had expected it to, but Sneasel had realized that Dazed was much more powerful than him.

Dazed charged up another Focus Blast, but Sneasel dipped his head and took a knee. He was suddenly tired and weak, unwilling to take another brutal Focus Blast for his pride. Sneasel was a cunning predator at heart. It was much more important to avoid injury than to suffer for his own defiance.

When Dazed looked as though she would hit him one last time, Ash stopped it. "Enough." The trainer said sharply. "Sneasel, you need to keep yourself under control. I know you're angry a lot, but it'll pass in time. Stay focused."

The dark-type hissed at Ash in understanding. He slunk away into the shadows. Ash managed to make out a ripple of movement near Tangrowth, and the grass-type's affectionate gurgle told Ash that Sneasel had finally decided to stop sleeping with him. It looked like the team's baby was growing up.

"You can eat my dreams." Ash told Dazed. He laid back down on his sleeping mat, a little sad. It was good that Sneasel seemed to understand that his behavior needed to be curbed, but he felt like their relationship had changed. Sneasel wasn't a baby that needed to be nurtured anymore. He was becoming an adult, a full member of the pack.

Dazed smiled at him with her knowledgeable eyes, but he could see that there was empathetic sorrow for what he had realized. Ash knew she didn't like Sneasel, but Dazed was adept at detecting emotions, although she wasn't the most expressive individual. She could feel what he felt, if to a lesser extent.

He laid his head back against Nidoking's chest, who gave a low, happy grunt that made the ground around the duo shake. Ash smiled and affectionately patted his friend's bulky shoulder before he closed his eyes, protected by his friends.

Thoughts swarmed and roiled within his mind, however, and he did not fall to sleep immediately.

It was strange to realize that the disruption Sneasel had brought to the team's status quo was slowly coming to an end. He was becoming another member of the team, if one that needed quite a bit of practice and intensive training to match the others. Everything was settling back into place.

He heard Dazed shuffling about before he finally managed to fall to sleep, the blackness washing over his mind before he drifted off into unconsciousness.

For the first time in a long time, he slept a dreamless sleep.

XX

It took five more days to reach Vermillion. Ash travelled at a hurried pace. Although he made sure to give Sneasel plenty of practice against trainers on the road, he still reached the warm city with plenty of time to spare.

Sneasel had taken his words to heart. For the first day or two after the fight with Dazed he was a bit subdued and cold toward the others, and actually stayed around Tangrowth most of the time, but he returned to a relatively normal state after. Dazed simply had to glare at the dark-type with glowing eyes to enforce his good behavior. He hadn't stolen anything or attacked another member of the team since that night.

Ash didn't like using fear to keep Sneasel on a good path. It was a low thing to do, but it was necessary. Sneasel's pokedex entry had frequently mentioned that his species only respected strength and cunning. The behavior was much less prevalent in properly trained members of the breed, but during their short period of puberty Sneasel's instincts essentially ruled him. To maintain his obedience, Ash had to keep his respect.

He'd noticed a change in Tangrowth as well. The grass-type was a bit more protective over Sneasel than usual, although he wouldn't stop Ash or the others if Sneasel needed to be reprimanded. But he was much quicker to gurgle angrily should he believe the others took it too far. Tangrowth simply tapped Ash on the forehead with a bit more force than usual.

He hadn't said anything to his easygoing friend yet. Ash hoped that it was just a phase Tangrowth was going through, induced by the minor injuries the pokemon he had more or less adopted was incurring whenever he took things too far. If things continued, he would intervene.

The rest of his friends were doing fine. Nidoking and Torrent had continued to teach Sneasel the exercises required to focus his energy and manipulate ice, which managed to placate the dark-type. Ash figured that if it could teach him control and focus, it was worth teaching.

Dazed wasn't fully healed, but she looked much better now that she was able to feed on Ash's dreams again. Ash couldn't believe that he didn't notice how haggard she had looked. Her mane had become lank and her short yellow fur was dull and lacked its former luster, but the healthy glow was returning quickly. He wondered if she'd manipulated his perceptions to keep him from worrying about her. It was a common behavior of protective psychic-types, Ash had read.

Plume just seemed happy to be with the rest of the group. Ash felt a bit of guilt about leaving Bruiser and Seeker alone for so long, but according to his mother they were incredibly happy and content. Nevertheless, he always diverted a few minutes to speak to his friends after he and his mother were done talking.

But he made sure to pay quite a bit of attention to Plume. She was incredibly close to mastering Hurricane. At her current rate of progress, she would be able to perform the attack perfectly after a week or two. As of now she could easily blow down a few trees.

He made sure to pass by the gym before he went to the Pokemon Center. Surge should know that he had reached Vermillion. Ash figured that they'd leave tomorrow, although plans might change. Lance hadn't told him much about the job, after all, nor what preparations were being made for it.

"You here for a battle?" One of the tough gym trainers snarled at him as Ash walked up to the gym doors. Several of the trainers waiting in line glared at Ash. Ash looked up at him impassively and thought the trainer was the one that had taken over the gym for Surge after their battle. The bulky man squinted in recognition. "Wait, you're that kid who beat Surge, right?"

Ash nodded. "I need to see him."

The gym trainer nodded and looked over to his counterpart. "Hey, Berna, keep the little brats out of the gym would ya?" He said as he pointed at the long line of trainers Ash had skipped by. "Surge told us to let the kid in."

"Got it." The tall woman growled. She glared over at one of the trainers who began complaining. "Shut up, runt. Maybe if you knew how to battle Surge would let you in the gym."

Ash didn't hear any more of the conversation as the gym trainer took him inside. The gym was as pristine as ever, with the notable exception of the field, which was torn up with large ruts that looked as though a young onix had made them. A short trainer about his age was battling Surge and Raichu with a Scyther.

"Scyther, use your Quick Attack!" The boy cried. He pointed dramatically at Raichu. Scyther growled before it blurred forward.

"Thunder Blast." Surge yawned. He seemed rather bored, although he laughed raucously as Raichu's cheeks sparked and bolts of brilliant lightning shot out and covered the entire field, too fast for Scyther to dodge. The bug-type was briefly illuminated as electricity crackled through its body before it simply dropped to the ground. "Kid, get out of here. Come back when you've actually trained that Scyther."

The trainer clenched his fists, but recalled Scyther and left the gym. Before the next trainer was called in, the gym trainer called out for Surge.

"What is it?" The giant snapped before he saw Ash. "Ah, the runt's arrived! Jack, you've got the gym for the rest of the day. You know the drill: blast 'em with Electivire. Let him do what he wants."

"Yes, Sir!" The gym trainer shouted with a salute. As Surge and Raichu walked over to Ash, Jack called out, "Next challenger!"

Raichu nimbly climbed up Surge so that she could sit on his shoulder. Thanks to the man's incredible size, the large mouse didn't look out of place in the least. She chattered at Surge excitedly, and the gym leader scratched behind her oddly formed ears with a smile.

"Let's go. I've got something to show you." Surge said flatly. His demeanor was grim and oddly subdued.

Ash nodded and followed the massive man out of the gym. The trainers waiting to battle the gym leader gawked at Surge as he walked out. Surge just put on a mean grin and Raichu sparked menacingly. All of the trainers that had battled him before backed away nervously, while the ones that hadn't just looked confused.

"What is it?" Ash asked curiously. Surge had never been like this, not even when he'd met him in the hospital after the St. Anne. That had just made him angry, even if the sorrow was evident if one knew where to look.

"You'll see." Surge grunted. He looked down at Ash, who barely came up to the gym leader's waist. "I guess I should start telling you about the job. Lance contacted me and Brock the same day as he did you. I've got the preparations ready."

He blinked. "Brock's coming?"

"Yeah. We would have used Giovanni," Surge spat the name in disgust, "since he was the ground-type leader. Most of Brock's pokemon have got a resistance to electricity, if not outright immunity. That Steelix of his will be a damn good transport, if nothing else."

"We aren't teleporting?" Ash questioned. It seemed like a fairly important mission, at least when he looked at the kind of money Lance was throwing at him. He had thought time was of the essence.

Surge shook his head. Raichu growled as she was forced to cling to the thin fabric of the man's shirt. "Teleportation doesn't work past Lavender Town. We sent a few Rangers to scout it out, but they could only teleport a few miles into the storm before it just stopped working. That doesn't happen often, and it's one of the reasons Lance saw fit to send gym leaders to assess the situation. We don't usually go on grunt missions like this."

"What do you think's stopping the psychics?" Ash asked. Even though his mind was filled with potential explanations, he didn't understand the theory behind psychic-types enough to come up with a good one. "It's just a storm, even if something else is fuelling it."

The gym leader paused for a moment in surprise. "You picked up on that? Most of the idiots I talk to just think that it's a freak occurrence, brought on by too much manipulation of the weather. The League thinks differently."

"The Creature." Ash muttered. His fists balled tightly.

Surge nodded. "That's what you call it? It's as good as anything the League's come up with. We know that the storm isn't natural, and the only thing that could potentially keep up a storm for that long is the Creature. The psychics being blocked just gives more proof to it."

"What are we supposed to do, then?" Ash asked as the warm, salty ocean and its softly lapping waves came into view. "There's no way we can take it on."

"All Lance wants us to do is investigate." Surge grunted. He angled to the left, close to the port. Ash felt a bit of fear rise up in his stomach as several cruise ships came into view. His fists involuntarily clenched, tight enough to leave slight traces of blood on his nails. "If we see that thing, we leave."

They were silent for another few minutes. Ash was lost in his thoughts and preparations, and Surge just had a hard look on his face that grew darker and darker as they moved on.

When they stopped, Ash recognized where they were. This was where the St. Anne had set off on its last voyage. He took a few deep breaths to get the rush of icy water and screams of the dying out of his head.

There was a massive statue in front of them. It showed a large ship, the perfect replica of the St. Anne, atop a large wave of marble. On the wave, which was ten feet high and nearly fifteen feet long, thousands of names were inscribed.

"Memorial to the St. Anne Tragedy. Dedicated to men and women unjustly killed." Ash read in a tight voice as he saw the script just above the names. A lump developed in his throat. He had to force himself to not touch the monument. The trainer glanced over at Surge, who had his arms crossed and a determinedly stoic expression. "How many names?"

"Three thousand eight hundred and eight." Surge sighed. Raichu patted the side of his head affectionately and chattered in an attempt to cheer him up. The gym leader smiled slightly and scratched her ears. "That's not counting the pokemon. There are still divers searching for pokeballs."

Ash was silent for a few moments. "Thank you for showing me this. I had no idea it existed."

"You're welcome." Surge said in a tone that could almost be mistaken for soft. He patted Ash's shoulder, which unintentionally sent the trainer stumbling forward. "I figured you deserved to see it. Are you coming back?"

"I'm going to stay here for a while." Ash said quietly. He stared at the names immortalized in stone, well aware that he could have been amongst their number. He would have, had Torrent not found strength in his desperation.

"I understand." Surge said gruffly, but in a manner that told Ash that he understood all too well. "We're leaving tomorrow. Meet me outside my gym at six o' clock in the morning. I'll explain more then."

Ash nodded silently as Surge walked off. He idly noted that Surge could be surprisingly quiet when he needed to.

He felt all of the emotions he'd felt in the wake of the tragedy return in full force. Ash scowled as pure rage and sorrow, alternate emotions that fit far too well together, surged upward. The lump in his throat grew, but he didn't acknowledge it. What he acknowledged were the names of those that Team Rocket had killed, all in the name of playing with their new toy.

But there were no tears.

He'd outgrown that. All he wanted was for Team Rocket to fall, no matter who dealt the blow.

XX

Ash felt better by the time he stood outside of Surge's gym the next morning, five minutes before he needed to. Seeing the Memorial had drudged up some feelings he would rather have forgotten, but it was refreshing, in a way. He hadn't dealt with it in the months since the tragedy, and finally seeing the evidence of the horrific night made him feel like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.

"Sneasel, calm down." He said soothingly. Sneasel was incredibly hyper this morning, probably because of the cold, crisp air. It was probably the coldest Sneasel had ever been. The dark-type hissed understandingly, but kept on hopping up and down by his feet. Every now and then he'd sniff the air and bare his fangs. Ashs assumed he smelled a rattata or other urban pokemon.

He snapped his head to the gym when the door suddenly slammed open. Surge walked out and motioned for him to come in. "I've got to modify your trainer privileges before we leave and brief you on the mission."

Ash followed Surge into the gym, which was rather warm and bright compared to the streets of Vermillion, which were still dim and misty with a bitterly cold atmosphere. He rubbed his arms and restore some feeling back into them, but Sneasel wasn't so happy with the insulated gym. The dark-type growled and leapt up onto Ash's shoulder, although soon he would be too big to comfortably do so.

Surge directed him into a room that was mostly empty, save for a large computer and a trading machine. The massive gym leader sat down in a chair that was clearly made for him and powered up the computer. Raichu awoke in the corner and skittered over to Surge, who absentmindedly pet the orange rodent.

"You said you didn't have an electric-type, right?" The older man growled as the computer's screen sparked to life. Ash nodded. "Well, if you want one this mission is the time to get it. Almost every electric-type in Kanto has migrated up to the stormy areas. I'm giving you an extra pokeball slot so that you can catch one and not have to bother trading it out."

"Thanks." Ash said gratefully. He looked at Sneasel oddly when the dark-type deftly leapt off of his shoulder, but sighed when he saw his friend trying to sneak up on Raichu. "Sneasel, don't do –"

He was cut off by the crackle of electricity and the smell of ozone. Sneasel blinked once before he collapsed to the ground in a smoking heap. Ash sighed and recalled his friend, whose thick fur was standing up on end in a comical manner.

"Good girl, Raichu." Surge laughed uproariously. Ash was relatively certain the gym leader had just woken up everyone in the adjacent buildings. Raichu made on odd noise that Ash assumed was laughter before she climbed up onto Surge's shoulder. The massive man didn't even seem to notice. "Runt, what's your I.D. number?"

Surge typed rapidly as Ash called off the numbers he had memorized. As part of their training, potential trainers were required to know it in case their pokedex was destroyed or inaccessible. It was a basic safety measure, although it took Ash a moment to recall it.

"And it's done." Surge grunted. Ash was surprised at how fast he could type. His fingers were just as large as the rest of him, but it seemed that he hadn't lost any dexterity from it. "I went ahead and extended the time you've got for your Sneasel another two weeks."

"How long do you think this will take?" Ash asked with a frown. He still had another few weeks with Sneasel before he'd have to see about swapping his friends out.

Surge stood up and shrugged. "We're going to a decoy power plant in the northeast of Kanto. That's where the League placed the epicenter of the storm. It's normally a journey of about two weeks, but the storm wrecked everywhere it touched. I'm thinking it'll be three."

He nodded. It was no surprise that it would be such a long journey. Decoy power plants were made specifically to keep electric-types from ravaging the power plants humans depended on and cities. They were usually in locations far from civilization and tended to be incredibly expensive to maintain. But the investment was well worth it.

"Can we use any transport?"

Surge laughed condescendingly, although not mean-spirited. "Runt, the only thing we'll be riding is Brock's Steelix. Let me explain the situation." He stood up and started pacing in front of Ash. Raichu adopted a stern expression and sparks flew from her cheeks. Ash could easily see his background as a decorated member of the League's forces. Maybe he was an ACE trainer.

"The storm spreads eighty miles in any direction, and grows larger every day." Surge barked. "Its effects have spread to Lavender Town and, in a matter of days, Cerulean City. Almost every electric-type in Kanto is within its boundaries, and they have been reported to be more aggressive than usual. According to some spooks, there are hurricane force winds in the five miles outside of the eye. Tornadoes are commonplace. As of today, the League has demanded an evacuation of the area, and they've sent a request for castform from the Hoenn League."

Ash blinked. He hadn't realized things were so bad. The news hadn't shown off how extreme it was, although he'd known that a storm raging for that long couldn't be good. But Surge had just made him see how serious it was.

"How are we supposed to get to the power plant if the winds are that strong?" Ash questioned worriedly. "We can't fly in that kind of weather, and it sounds like most pokemon wouldn't be able to handle the storms."

Surge grinned wildly and pulled out a strange pokeball. It was purely white except for its ring. He tapped it and released a strange pokemon. It was tiny and looked as though it were made of gray clouds. "This is Castform. It's the first of the bunch to be delivered from Hoenn. It normally just changes form with the weather, but has a pretty strong affinity for manipulating it as well. Castform is our best shot at calming the storm around us."

Castform squeaked in agreement and floated over to Ash. Its body was wispy and translucent, solid but only to the loosest definition. The strange pokemon stared at him before Surge returned it to its pokeball.

"If that fails, we'll just ride in Steelix's mouth or tunnel." Surge said in a disgruntled manner. He didn't seem any more pleased about it than Ash. "If it comes to that, survival is the goal."

"I can see why Lance wanted two gym leaders and a trainer with eight badges for this." Ash said softly. He hadn't thought it would be so dangerous.

Surge squinted at him. "You aren't thinking about backing out, are you?"

"Of course not." Ash replied with a maniacal grin. This would probably be safer than anything else he'd done for the League. Besides, it would be interesting to travel with a human for once, especially one as strong as Surge. Brock didn't seem too bad either. "This'll be fun."

"Good to hear!" Surge boomed. The serious persona he'd adopted for the conversation slipped away, showing his true colors. "Let's be off, runt. We need to move fast."

Ash nodded and followed Surge as he suddenly moved and took a long stride out of the door. This would be an interesting experience, to say the least.

XX

Ash sat down beside the campfire and squinted at the horribly familiar can that Surge was opening. His mouth immediately went dry and he felt a reflexive urge to heave overcome him.

They'd just stopped travelling. Surge was a harsh taskmaster, although he at least understood Ash's weaker physical state and gave a few allowances to stop and eat. Aside from the short breaks, though, they'd travelled nonstop for nearly fifteen hours. Their pace was a bit more intensive than what he was used to, although not too bad.

It wasn't too demanding for Ash, who had gotten quite a bit of endurance from trekking across Kanto, but by the end even his feet were sore. He had no idea how Surge was still laughing and easily pushing on, especially since the man didn't seem to leave his gym all that often.

His friends still hadn't adjusted to Surge's presence. Plume swept over them in concern every now and then, and suspiciously eyed Surge and Raichu whenever she landed. Surge just tossed a few scraps of food her way and laughed at her threatening shrieks.

Torrent, who Ash had elected to walk beside him, simply kept a constant vigil over Ash. He and Raichu seemed desperate to battle each other, but Surge wouldn't hear of it. Ash wasn't too anxious for the battle either. With the kind of power both of the potential combatants were packing they'd wipe out everything around them before it was over.

"Please tell me that isn't what I think it is." Ash said disdainfully as he laid back onto Nidoking, who was curled up on his side. The poison-type respected Surge thanks to their battle so long ago and seemed almost happy to see the powerful gym leader again, which Surge had reciprocated.

"You've had the broth?" Surge snorted in amusement. He easily poured the contents of the can into a bowl and hung it on a wire over the flickering campfire. Infernus growled from next to Ash. He wasn't happy about his position being usurped. "Best food for the road. The Broth of Champions, as Bruno calls it."

Ash rolled his eyes. "You have a different standard of good. I only had to eat it for about a week and I still can't get the taste out of my mouth. I'm fairly certain it's made from grimer."

"Of course. They're the secret ingredient." Surge said seriously as he added a bit of water to the thick blob of gelatinous goo that lay prostrate in the bowl. "No other way to get that texture."

He shuddered and began unwrapping his own food, which was a bland but ultimately better choice than the black broth. It didn't need heating, so he contentedly ate while the rest of his friends tore into their own piles of food. Nidoking lazily moved every now and then, but had already wrecked his own immense stack.

"So, where are we meeting Brock?" Ash broke the silence. He relaxed and watched in disgust as Surge scraped some more of the black broth out of its can and into the bowl. Nidoking rumbled in amusement at his revulsion.

"Berge Town." Surge replied. He carelessly batted Raichu's dexterous paws away from the can of his disgusting meal with a massive hand. The gym leader suddenly snorted. "I hope he didn't pass through Cerulean. I'm not sure the idiot could handle being around the Sisters."

"What do you mean?" Ash perked up. Brock seemed nice, and so did the Sisters, although outwardly they were a bit airheaded.

Surge cocked his head and stared at him with bemused blue eyes. "Have you never talked to the kid?"

Ash nodded slowly, his brow furrowed in confusion. Brock was probably amongst the most normal of the gym leaders he'd met. The Sisters…well, that didn't need an explanation. Surge enjoyed beating trainers and their pokemon black and blue, Erika was just odd, Sabrina was the most powerful human psychic and made his brain tie itself into knots half the time, Koga was a ninja, and Blaine had an awful sense of humor. Giovanni didn't count.

"Kid's more hormonal than Erika." Surge snorted. "I've got to warn Holly whenever he comes to Vermillion. Every Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny in Kanto knows him by now."

"Really?" Ash remarked. One eyebrow was raised. He was rather surprised that the friendly, level headed gym leader would act like that. "Why was he at Vermillion?"

Surge answered as he took the bubbling broth off of the fire. Ash fought down the urge to wretch when the rancid aroma wafted over to him. Nidoking started coughing. His strong sense of smell wasn't always a boon.

"I trained him." Surge said. A shadow cast over his hard face. "His father was supposed to, but I'm not going to get into that."

Ash quieted down and silence reigned for a few more minutes. He was too tired to really make an effort to speak, and when he was done exhaustion overcame him.

He couldn't help but be intrigued by the new information about Brock, though. It was strange to realize that people could hide such drastically different sides of themselves from view. Maybe he'd learn more when they actually met up with the teenager.

XX

Surge's prediction was right on. They arrived at Berge Town in exactly a week. The weather had begun to foul during their third day of travel, although it hadn't shifted to an actual storm yet. It was just more proof that the storm was unnatural. Its effects were spreading out to cover more and more of Kanto every day, although the storm itself advanced at a far more sedate pace.

"We need to hurry." Surge grunted as they entered the town's limits. It was quite small, consisting of only five thousand residents, but it was still larger than Pallet Town. "We're supposed to meet Brock at the Pokemon Center. The kid's probably about to get punched out by Nurse Joy."

Ash nodded and followed Surge's massive form as he confidently strode through the grey streets of Berge. It was quite empty, despite being one of the last bastions of civilization before the wilds of northeastern Kanto began to encroach. Only a few passerby greeted them, and even then they walked past the outsiders at a fast pace.

"And here we are." Surge announced with a boom. Startled passersby looked at them oddly before they continued on their way. Ash grinned and shook his head. While he and Surge didn't talk that much on the road, he'd learned a lot about the man, if from body language and unspoken communication rather than concrete conversation.

Surge was loud, brash, and could be cruel to trainers he deemed weak. Ash had noticed that even at the gym, but after seeing him challenged by trainers on the road that didn't recognize him, the gym leader simply had Raichu blast their pokemon until they were nothing but a smoking heap. After that he took as much of their money as allowed and sent them on their way. The gym leader had no time for games.

But he could be quiet and contemplative at times. It wasn't a common thing, but sometimes Surge turned his thoughts inward. He'd revealed quite a bit about the other gym leaders to Ash, who devoured the information about the important figures.

None of it was really important, and Ash doubted if Surge even meant to say much of it. Most of the information just slipped out, like Brock's father being absent, or Blaine being involved with cloning research a few years ago. It was rather interesting, nonetheless.

He snapped his thoughts onto a more important topic when the two entered the Pokemon Center. It only had three or four people aside from them in it, but everyone's attention was focused at the counter.

A tall, broad shouldered teenage boy was on his knees. He clasped a bemused Nurse Joy's small, slender hands into his own and serenaded her with flowery words. Nurse Joy blinked helplessly, but her blue eyes lit up when she saw Surge. The nurse glanced at Surge hopefully before she nodded at Brock.

"This is how you handle an idiot teenager." Surge growled in amusement. He cracked his knuckles. "Make sure I never have to do this to you."

Ash watched with disbelieving eyes as Surge casually strode up to the unaware Brock and picked him up by his collar. Brock froze, and Ash suspected that the rock-type gym leader knew exactly who had arrived.

"Hey, Lt." Brock laughed nervously. It was a far cry from the stoic, strong teenager that Ash thought he'd known. "You're a bit earlier than I expected."

"Yep." Surge leered. He twisted the hanging form of the teenager around and stared Brock right in the eyes. "What did I tell you about annoying the good Nurses?"

Brock barely smiled. "Don't?"

Surge nodded with a horrible grin on his face, the one that terrified most of the trainers that had challenged his gym. "Raichu, will you do the honors?"

Raichu rubbed her paws together in glee as she jubilantly nodded. She whipped her tail around, which sent sparks flashing through the air, and touched the live wire to Brock's shoulder. The teenager twitched violently as a small current of electricity passed through his body, although it was only enough to jolt him. It would leave him in pain for a while, but Surge wouldn't actually hurt him.

The gym leader dropped Brock to the ground, where he landed with a dull thump. "A pleasure doing business with you, Macy. I'd hoped to get here before he could bother you."

"Thank you, Lt." Nurse Joy smiled demurely. "I've heard plenty about him from my cousins. He doesn't mean any harm."

"It's not befitting of a gym leader. Even a hormonal one." Surge grunted. He lightly kicked Brock, who groaned miserably. "Get up, you baby. I bet the runt over there would be tougher than you."

Ash grinned as Brock groaned and mumbled something unintelligible in response. Surge shrugged and walked over to him. He called back to Brock, who was starting to stand. "We'll be waiting at the gates for you, lover boy!"

Surge waved a goodbye to Nurse Joy before he walked out the door. Ash obediently followed, barely able to repress his laughter before he left the building as well. Even the gray veil of clouds that only allowed the dimmest of light to reach the earth didn't hamper his amusement.

"He'll learn one day." Surge grunted. He cracked his knuckles and laughed maniacally before he scratched Raichu behind the ears. She chattered and licked the side of his face. "At the very least he'll stop messing with women like Macy."

"You know her?" Ash asked. Sneasel poked his head out of Ash's pack in annoyance when he felt a few raindrops go through. He hissed and plugged the tiny hole in Ash's pack with a thin layer of ice before he vanished back into the dry interior. It was barely large enough to fit him anymore, but the dark-type made due.

Surge glanced at him as they started walking down the long, straight road. "Of course. She's in Vermillion's territory. I know all of the Nurse Joys and Officer Jennys." His eyes hardened. "You've got to know the people fighting for you."

Ash nodded. Surge had imparted several lessons like that on him. Know your troops, be fair with punishment, and stay resilient in the face of the worst calamities tended to be the main ones.

"We need to pick up supplies." Ash stated as a Poke Mart came into view. Tangrowth was consuming much more food than usual. He wasn't able to make up for it with his photosynthesis anymore. The never ending wall of dark clouds was responsible for that. Infernus couldn't even come out anymore thanks to the constant threat of rain. It wouldn't exactly hurt him, but it was pointless to release him when he would be so badly weakened.

"We've got time." Surge grunted. "Brock won't be able to reach the gates for about twenty minutes. Raichu put a little more juice in than necessary."

Ash laughed at Raichu's smug expression as they entered the store, which was quite warm and dry. It was probably the busiest building they'd seen in the small town, and it looked as though everyone was trying to stock up for the storm. From what Ash had heard, most of the scattered homes and tiny settlements in the wilds of northeast Kanto had lost power. The storm was dangerous, and on top of that the electric-types that swarmed the area had no regard for the humans.

Sneasel shattered the thin layer of ice covering the bag and stuck his head out suspiciously when he detected the new area. He sniffed a few times before he hissed in annoyance. Ash soothingly reached back and pet his thick black fur, despite the awkward angle. It calmed the dark-type down enough for them to stay inside.

"I'll get medicine." Surge growled. "You get the food. My team will eat anything. They took to the broth about as well as you did."

Raichu shuddered, and Ash gave her a half amused and half pitying look before he walked off to fight through the mass of people in the store. It was too bad that they needed to separate. The crowd fearfully backed away from Surge wherever he went, even if they didn't recognize him.

He sighed and shook his head. This needed to be done quickly.

XX

"Did your rodent have to shock me that hard?" Brock complained as he walked up to the two at the edge of town. His hair still stood straight up and his mouth was set into a frown. The gym leader froze when he saw Ash. "What are you doing here?"

"Lance wanted me to come along." He explained. Brock nodded in understanding. The rock-type trainer didn't seem too surprised. "I guess he wanted some variation."

Brock smiled and extended his calloused hand, which Ash gladly shook. This was the Brock he remembered. "Well, it's good to see you again." He directed a dirty look to Surge. "It's definitely better than meeting that maniac."

"Don't blame me for what you brought on yourself, brat." Surge said with a dangerous grin. Raichu crossed her stubby forelegs and sparked threateningly in tandem. "Maybe if you stopped acting like a love-struck punk I wouldn't have Raichu jolt you."

Ash watched in amusement as Brock colored, although the older boy grinned as well. It was clear that their words didn't have too much of an effect on each other.

"Let's get going." Surge growled. He took charge of the situation whenever possible. The man was a natural leader, and Ash wasn't about to get in a squabble with the man over that. Surge actually knew where they were going.

They started off at a good pace, although Brock struggled to keep up at first. As the electricity left his body, his movements grew easier and easier, and the strength built up from long days of traversing the rugged territory of Pewter became apparent to Ash.

For the first few minutes it was silent. They were just focused on moving as quickly as possible. After that, however, Surge finally broke the silence. "So, how's that useless old man of yours?"

"He has the gym." Brock replied bitterly. Ash paid quite a bit of attention. It felt as though he were listening in on something private, but he just wanted to learn. Knowledge was power. "It'll probably be in ruins by the time I come back. There's no way he can control the kids."

Surge grunted with what Ash thought was an annoyed tone. "Kick his ass, then. Get some of that pent up anger out of your system."

Brock just laughed, and Ash figured he'd stop listening. This definitely wasn't any of his business.

He just focused on the road. There would be plenty of time to get to know his two travelling companions. Right now it was just time to move.

XX

Three days, later, they reached the edge of the storm. It was nothing but light rain, but there were other threats that went along with it. A few hours after reaching the steady drizzle, they met their first pack of roving electric-types.

Raichu hissed to Surge, who raised his hand for the group to freeze. He whispered, "Electric-types."

Ash responded immediately by releasing Nidoking, Torrent, and Dazed. Nidoking roared uncomfortably as the rain pattered against his thick armor, but didn't complain too much. He just took up a defensive position next to Ash. Torrent, who would be able to manipulate the rain to his advantage if necessary, took up Ash's other side. Dazed calmly raised shields around the vulnerable humans. Sneasel leapt off of Ash's back and prepared to viciously attack whatever threatened them.

Brock released a large Rhydon and Golem. Ash supposed that the narrow path they were on was just too small to safely release Steelix.

"AET." Brock ordered calmly, even as the silhouettes of dozens of electabuzz and elekid became visible on the sides of the road. Both rock-types snorted and took up their positions on opposite sides of the road without hesitation.

"We don't have time for this. Raichu get them to back off." Surge snarled. Raichu, whose cheeks crackled with energy, hissed and shot tiny threads of electricity toward the electabuzz. One, who was much larger than the others, although not bulky enough to be an electivire, stepped forward and shot a blast of electricity back, although Raichu prevented it from harming Surge.

Ash wasn't quite worried. That was simply how electric-types that weren't of the same species tended to communicate with each other. Electricity held a language foreign to none of their kind.

"Get ready." Surge grinned wildly. His eyes were screaming for a fight. "It's about to get fun."

Everything disappeared in a flash of brilliant light a moment as the herd attacked. Rhydon was the primary focus of the attack, thanks to the attracting materials that made up its horn. It disappeared for a moment as thousands of volts were discharged at its body, but Rhydon simply grunted in annoyance before its smoking body became visible.

A sudden glimpse of inspiration flashed through him as Raichu, Golem, Rhydon, and all of his friends save Dazed rushed into battle, although Nidoking stayed close by. They were outnumbered at least ten to one, but it was still a horribly uneven fight against the herd.

He glanced at the ground which showed that Dazed, who was focused entirely on keeping herself and the humans shielded from the unnaturally strong electric attacks burning through the air, had extended the shield to cover the ground underneath her charges in a shimmering veil.

After Nidoking easily shrugged off the combined blasts of electricity from a number of electabuzz and elekid, Ash called out, "Earthquake!"

Nidoking bared his fangs and grunted as he stamped on the ground. The earth rippled like water as energy travelled through it and carved small fissures in every direction. Their foes collapsed as the powerful attack hit, which was precisely what Ash needed.

Ground-type attacks tended to do quite a bit of damage to electric-types. The tremors and powerful force that accompanied most of the ground-type attacks tended to interfere with their ability to manipulate and discharge electricity. As a reflexive action, they accidentally lost control of the organs they stored their electricity in and release dangerous amounts of electricity into their own internal organs, where electric-types' resistance to electricity wasn't effective.

Combined with the fact that most ground-types possessed a thick hide that either dulled the shock or had specialized systems that channeled electricity through their hide or armor and out of their body, ground-types were by far the most effective weapon against the dangerous electric-types.

After the herd was temporarily stunned, their pokemon made short work of the large group. Torrent casually took small groups of the aggressive pokemon down with his powerful Blizzard or Dragon Pulse, while Sneasel casually raced amongst the young, unpracticed elekid and preyed upon them. Nidoking wasn't capable of doing much without potentially hurting their allies or killing members of the herd, so he acted as a sponge to keep the bright, oddly powerful blasts of electricity away from the other members of the team.

The humans simply sat in the middle, protected by Dazed's powerful shields. Ash and Brock let out a steady stream of orders, but Surge just laughed uproariously as Raichu casually took on three of the larger electabuzz at once. Every now and then one of the herd would fire a potentially lethal blast of electricity toward them, but it didn't affect Ash aside from blinding him for a moment.

By the time a minute had passed, most of the herd had been defeated. The prideful pokemon fought on, however, until only four of the electabuzz remained.

Ash saw his friends encroaching upon the conscious electabuzz and noted that Sneasel was nowhere to be found. He whistled loudly to attract the dark-type. While Sneasel was handling his puberty quite well, without supervision he might give in to the predatory instincts so prevalent in his mind.

Sneasel suddenly appeared beside him in a rush of darkness. His friend made sure to keep away from the psychic shields lest he disrupt Dazed's attempts to protect the humans, but Sneasel's appearance attracted the attention of one of the remaining electabuzz.

The trainer squeezed his eyes shut as an immense blast of electricity, unrefined and driven by pure rage, incinerated a path in the air before it made contact with Dazed's barrier. Ash went deaf as a thunderclap rolled through the world, although he heard a strange sound like the shatter of glass beforehand.

He didn't have time to ponder his thoughts before he was thrown to the ground amidst an explosion of energy. Ash's back slammed to the earth as the sharp aroma of ozone shot through the air, a result of the electricity's ionizing path. The trainer's heart sank when he realized that the new, much more powerful smell was due to the fact that Dazed's shield had shattered under the power of the lightning strike.

Ash opened his eyes and pulled himself up, but froze when he saw an Electabuzz hurtle toward him in a blur of motion. It was clearly using Quick Attack, and was so fast that none of his friends could have stopped it before it gained some measure of vengeance against the humans that had devastated the herd.

None of his friends aside from Sneasel, anyway. The dark-type was just as fast as he bravely leapt in front of Ash. His sharp, hooked claws were unsheathed and raised. Ash's eyes, still somewhat weak from the explosion, were able to make out a slick red substance on the deadly instruments.

He didn't have time to think about that, however. Electabuzz didn't stop as it rushed toward Ash, and simply slammed into Sneasel. Although the dark-type did his best to sink his claws into the electric-type's thick fur and the flesh beneath, Electabuzz made an odd whirring noise and released an immense discharge of electricity from her body. Sneasel held on for a few moments, but the energy released into his frail form was just too much.

Sneasel's distraction had given Ash and his pokemon time to react, however. Even as the large Electabuzz stood over him and raised one of its large fists, which was alit with dancing arcs of electricity, an Ice Beam from an enraged Nidoking and an exceptionally powerful Hydro Pump from Torrent slammed into the feline creature.

Ash had a wild grin on his face as he saw the powerful Electabuzz crash to the ground several feet away. It scrambled to its clawed feet and beat its chest. Electabuzz growled defiantly and shot large bolts of electricity toward its attackers, although it barely affected either of his resistant friends. He noted that Surge and Brock had realized the situation was under control and were finishing off the last of the enraged electabuzz.

His eyes widened in fear as he saw a very angry, very protective Nidoking rush toward Electabuzz with his long horn lowered. Poison bled from the tip, each drop enough to put a pokemon like Electabuzz in the Pokemon Center for a day. Torrent was far more calm, but still angry enough to decide against stopping Nidoking.

So he put his own plan into action. Just before Nidoking would have gored Electabuzz through the chest, Ash hurtled one of his five remaining Ultra Balls at Electabuzz. The rainy area was briefly alit with a bright flash of scarlet light as the helpless Electabuzz was sucked into the powerful device.

Normally, Ash would have been worried. Electric-types were notoriously difficult to capture since their natural charge was enough to disrupt the delicate mechanisms of the pokeball during the capture process, but Electabuzz had been badly stunned by Nidoking and Torrent's attacks. It probably wasn't even coherent.

He wiped some of the mud off of his forearms as he watched the Ultra Ball anxiously. Ash grinned happily when the device finally clicked, signifying that the capture was a success. Nidoking roared at the device furiously, which caused the mud and earth to shake violently.

Ash's eyes widened as Nidoking snorted and lowered his horn to the Ultra Ball. Just as he began his attempt to destroy the device and the Electabuzz contained within, a sharp command from Ash cut him from his rage.

"Nidoking, calm down!" Ash snapped. The haze that turned Nidoking's warm eyes into animalistic slits vanished instantly. Nidoking breathed heavily, but was calm enough so that Ash could put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's alright, buddy. I'm fine."

The poison-type grunted and nuzzled Ash affectionately, although he took care to keep his deadly horn away from the trainer. As his adrenaline faded, the poison secreted by glands throughout his body stopped production. Rain quickly wiped it away, although Nidoking and Ash ensured to keep contact to a minimum. It was dangerous to even touch during or after a battle, but in this case it was necessary.

"Thank you." Ash said with a soft smile. "But please don't do that again. I don't like seeing you like that. You aren't you."

Nidoking growled understandingly and nodded, but Ash wasn't sure if Nidoking would actually try and keep that vow. His species had a highly developed protective streak to begin with in order to keep their herd safe, and Nidoking was more devoted to Ash than most would be. No matter what Ash said, the trainer knew that Nidoking would always respond to situations that threatened Ash's life with lethal force.

Torrent levitated over, and Dazed shuffled to him as well. Ash smiled and nodded to them in thanks before he picked up the Ultra Ball. He examined it for a moment before he looked to Torrent. "Could you wash this off for me, please?"

The dragon-type nodded, although he seemed to think the task beneath him. Torrent gently sprayed a stream of clear water onto the device and removed the mud that clung to its underside. Ash thanked Torrent before he clipped the ball to his belt. It had come with four additional spaces just in case a trainer needed to reach for a pokeball at an instant's notice.

He would speak to his newest teammate and introduce it to his friends later. Right now he needed to make sure everyone was okay.

"Nice catch." Surge said approvingly. He looked over at the numerous unconscious elekid and electabuzz with disdain. "What a bunch of weaklings. They could have at least given us a good fight. I would only use a few of them in my gym."

"Why were they so strong?" Brock questioned as he walked over. His Golem and Rhydon seemed to have been recalled after they defeated the last of the electabuzz. "Even the elekid packed a fair punch."

Surge shrugged. "The storm. They seem a bit stronger than they should be even with the storm powering them up, though. I don't like it."

"I thought you said they were weak." Ash remarked with a raised eyebrow. He didn't speak that much around the others, so they paid him more attention than usual when he did.

"They are." Surge growled. Raichu nodded in agreement. "They weren't effective. This must be a new herd. Their attacks weren't coordinated well. An experienced herd with an electivire at their head would have shattered through those psychic barriers like they were nothing. Idiots didn't even think to take out the trainers, even with all that extra power."

Dazed's eyes narrowed at the perceived slight to her abilities, but she calmed down when Ash placed a soothing hand to her shoulder. He squeezed it slightly, and received a smile from Dazed's eyes in response. She still glared at Surge, though. The gym leader didn't care or notice.

"What should we do with the herd?" Brock asked. He stood up from where he was examining a particularly beat up elekid. Ash frowned when he realized it had a few gashes in its small body, clearly from Sneasel.

He glanced around for the dark-type. In the excitement, he'd forgotten his friend. Ash felt a bit guilty, but just recalled the unconscious Sneasel when he spotted him, with his fur straight up and smoking slightly, on the ground next to Nidoking.

"I'm recalling you, alright?" He told Torrent and Dazed. They nodded understandingly before they disappeared in a flash of light. Nidoking stood at his side, the friendly presence comforting to Ash.

Ash tuned in to the gym leaders' conversation again.

"Leave 'em. None of us did lethal damage." Surge sneered. Raichu snickered and whipped her cordlike tail around, which only added to the sharp smell of ozone. "They'll probably disband. I think the Runt caught one of their leaders, or at least one of their strongest fighters. It held out against ground-types, which gives it a point in my book."

He frowned at that, but shrugged it off. Sneasel probably didn't have time to actually kill any of the elekid, although he hoped that his friend would have adopted some sense of ethics to stop himself as well. That was unlikely, to say the least, but he could hope. The worst he could spot was a few cuts on their small bodies.

"We need to move on." Surge growled. "The fighting will've attracted other pokemon. I don't want to battle a swarm of supercharged magnemite."

Ash repressed a shudder at the thought and shouldered his pack. Brock did the same, and they fell in line behind the powerful gym leader.

Magnemite not be all too impressive on their own, but in groups they could be devastating. They were generally harmless, but every wild pokemon he'd seen in the storm had been aggressive, if not intent upon injuring the trainers.

He frowned. It almost reminded him of the Seafoam Caverns, although to a lesser degree. While the pokemon that hid in those deadly halls of stone and ice were monsters that attempted to kill him at the slightest provocation, the pokemon here simply seemed annoyed.

Surge had mentioned that storms and all of the charged energy in the air made electric-types more aggressive. It played with their emotions, so it was only logical that a storm this massive would have a huge effect on the wild pokemon exposed to it. Still, a few suspicious thoughts flashed through his mind as they set off down the ravaged road of mud.

XX

"We're going to look for people toughing it out through this storm." Surge shouted to Ash over the howling din of the wind outside. The storm had unexpectedly picked up as night fell, so they were forced to take shelter in a cave. It was large enough to comfortably hold all of them, but small enough that Infernus' mere presence would keep them comfortably warm.

Ash nodded and began to stand up, but Surge raised his hand. "You stay here and get to know that Electabuzz. Your life might depend on it when we get further in, so make friends. But we've got to get the order to evacuate out. Communications are shot."

The trainer frowned, but accepted it as the two gym leaders walked out the cave's maw. He couldn't say he was too disappointed in being passed over. It didn't look like a fun job.

He gave a last wave to match Brock's before he stood up and moved to the back of the cave. All of his friends were already released, so he didn't have to release them and give them orders. They knew what to do.

Nidoking and Dazed took up their positions by his side, where he faced the end of the cave. Plume couldn't move around in the cramped quarters of the cavern, so she simply cooed softly at him as she pecked at the pile of food he'd given her. Nidoking automatically adjusted himself to protect Plume from any stray bolts of electricity that might be hurled around. Dazed had already raised a shield in front of Ash.

Tangrowth gurgled happily as he walked over next to Dazed. He tapped her on the forehead with a vine and hugged Ash. While Ash just laughed and squeezed his rubbery arm back, Dazed's glowing eyes flashed with annoyance. She normally had a good tolerance for Tangrowth's antics, but not at the moment.

It probably didn't help Tangrowth's case that Sneasel was standing on top of the grass-type's head, supported by several of the thick vines. Sneasel snickered and pointed at her, only to receive a minor jolt from a watered down Thunderbolt by Nidoking.

Infernus snorted and casually punched Sneasel off of Tangrowth's head as he passed, although Tangrowth caught the dark-type before he fell and gave Infernus an uncharacteristically dark glare. He'd never really forgiven Infernus for that prank he'd played on the grass-type when they first met.

Torrent levitated behind Ash, his regal presence meant to dissuade Electabuzz from even thinking about attacking. He could fire a powerful Hydro Pump and knock her out cold in an instant. The sheer force behind the blast of water would probably cause some bruising, even if he made it as weak as Ash had ordered.

"Alright. Try to look nonthreatening." Ash said sternly. Infernus blew a plume of fire and smoke in amusement. The trainer just rolled his eyes and sighed. "Here it comes."

Electabuzz was mostly recovered when it emerged from the Ultra Ball. It growled cautiously, but didn't attack when it realized just how badly outmatched it was. Ash knew it had power, but it wasn't stupid. He knew that Electabuzz likely had a temperament similar to Infernus, although more irritable and less prone to unprovoked violence. Perhaps his same method would work on Electabuzz, although he doubted it would be easy.

"Hi. My name's Ash Ketchum. Do you know what's happened to you?" He began. Electabuzz nodded and growled back, a deep, powerful noise that was quite impressive. Ash could see why Surge had pointed it out as a leader. "I'm going to scan you with a device, alright? Don't worry about it. It won't hurt you."

Although Electabuzz eyed the pokedex suspiciously and sparked a bit, it didn't try to pull anything. It was more focused on the friendly vine Tangrowth had extended so that he could touch her. Tangrowth had a rather weak sense of sight, but his sense of touch was very developed. Most of his vines had little to no feeling, but a few of them were specialized to allow Tangrowth to feel out his environment.

"Give Electabuzz some space." Ash chided gently. Tangrowth gurgled as he sadly recalled his vines. Now that Tangrowth wasn't blocking his view, he raised the pokedex.

"_Electabuzz, the Electric Pokemon_." The cool, mechanical voice droned. "_It is normally found near power plants, where it feeds upon electricity. They can wander away and cause blackouts. Electricity runs across the surface of its body._

_This Electabuzz knows the moves: Quick Attack, Thunder Shock, Low Kick, Swift, Shock Wave, Thunder Wave, Thunder Punch, and Thunderbolt. Its ability is Static, which will cause the opponent to become paralyzed when they make physical contact with the pokemon."_

Ash whistled. Surge was right. Electabuzz was tough, even if it was probably behind the rest of his friends. Aside for Sneasel and Seeker, anyway. Bruiser would probably have a tough time fighting it as well, especially with Static. He'd seen it in action a few times before, and it could be worse than being poisoned by Nidoking or burned by Infernus.

"I know you probably aren't happy about being separated from your herd, but I'll try and make it up to you in any way that I can." Ash said softly. Electabuzz nodded slowly. It didn't seem particularly attached to the herd it had left behind. "I don't mean to sound arrogant, but I'm a pretty strong trainer. One of my friends can teach you a lot, and I'll do my best to make you the strongest you can be. Will you join me?"

Electabuzz nodded with hesitation. Ash held back a sigh of relief. He glanced over at Dazed, who barely nodded at him. That meant Electabuzz wasn't just playing them like Infernus had done. Thanks to Infernus' fledgling psychic abilities, Dazed wasn't able to understand his emotions or intent. His newest friend lacked that resistance.

"Well, I'll make introductions." He began. Ash pointed at Nidoking. Electabuzz's eyes narrowed as it recognized one of its attackers. Nidoking glared back. The poison-type wasn't happy about Electabuzz's position on the team. "That's Nidoking."

"Plume." He said. Nidoking reluctantly stepped out of the way so that Electabuzz could see the flying-type, who cried out in greeting. Electabuzz whirred softly. It was a much better reception than with Nidoking.

"Torrent." Ash directed. Torrent blinked in acknowledgement at Electabuzz, who dipped its head. It was clearly caught up in Torrent's regal aura. Electabuzz seemed much calmer than before, he noted. Perhaps being away from the influence of the storm had helped return her to normal.

"Dazed." The psychic-type nodded at Electabuzz, who whirred back. Although it was a short interaction, at least they didn't seem to have a problem with each other. Dazed didn't even seemed annoyed at the electric-type for breaking her shield.

"Infernus." Ash said softly. Infernus snorted and roared at Electabuzz, who whirred back angrily. As Infernus shot a stream of flame toward Electabuzz, the electric-type shot a huge bolt of electricity back in return. The trainer scowled and motioned for Dazed to stop it. She casually erected a psychic bubble around both of the attacks and easily snuffed them out.

Ash scowled. "That's enough. Infernus, I expected better from you."

Infernus growled, but dipped his head in what Ash thought was the closest his friend had ever gotten to shame. He snorted disdainfully at Electabuzz, who whirred back furiously but had a cooler head than the fire-type. Ash would have to keep an eye on those two once they were done with this job.

"Tangrowth." He said after taking a breath. Tangrowth happily gurgled as he snaked a few vines over to Electabuzz. Although the electric-type seemed a bit annoyed by the way the vines curiously poked and prodded her, she kept calm and let Tangrowth finish his inspection. Ash smiled gratefully at Electabuzz, to which it whirred back softly.

"And Sneasel." Ash pointed. Electabuzz took a moment to realize what he was pointing to, but cocked its head oddly when it saw Sneasel happily standing on top of Tangrowth's shell of vines. Sneasel hissed a greeting. The trainer assumed it was somewhat insulting, because Electabuzz shot a spark at Sneasel, which caused all of his fur to suddenly stand on end. He growled angrily and did his best to fix his fur, although Tangrowth helped with his grooming as well.

What tipped him off more was that none of his friends attempted any sort of retaliation.

"There are two more members of the team, but they aren't with us." Ash explained. Electabuzz nodded. He looked at it thoughtfully for a moment. His most recent teammates hadn't received nicknames for whatever reason.

Tangrowth couldn't remember his and he wanted Sneasel to grow up before giving him the option. Sneasel would only pick once he had fully developed.

But Electabuzz seemed fine with being a member of the team, happy even. Like most of his early friends, he thought that it was ready right now. If Electabuzz wanted one, of course.

"Say, do you want a nickname?" He asked. Electabuzz frowned for a moment before it nodded hesitantly. Sneasel suddenly stopped his attempts at grooming and stared at Electabuzz with jealousy.

He took a moment. There were plenty of generic names for electric-type pokemon that he wanted to avoid. Jolt, Bolt, Shocker, and everything similar was rather boring.

So he tried to think of what his first impression of Electabuzz, aside from the explosion and thunderclap. The harsh scent of ozone flashed in his memory, aided by the constant strikes of lightning outside. It was sharp and strong, just like Electabuzz.

"How about Oz?" He suggested. At the very least it was better than some of his other nicknames. Electabuzz shrugged before it nodded. Ash grinned. "Well, we've got a while before my friends come back. I guess you can just talk to the others, if you want."

Oz nodded, but stood around awkwardly for a few moments. Torrent and Tangrowth finally took pity on her and walked over. Nidoking, normally one of the most welcoming members of the team, just eyed Oz with distaste and stuck by Ash.

He frowned. That might be a problem. Ash would work on that later. But for now, he realized that he'd forgotten something extremely important.

Ash glanced at the pokedex's scan of Oz. He'd forgotten to check the gender. The trainer sighed when the pokedex identified Oz as female.

"Oz, do you want to change your name?" He called out. She glanced over at him oddly. A current of electricity passed through her fur as she squinted at him. Ash elaborated. "I didn't know you were a girl."

Oz shrugged and turned away. Ash blinked. Apparently she liked her new name.

He saw Sneasel sneak a glance at him and realized that he had another problem to take care of. Ash whistled softly, which automatically brought Sneasel over to him. The dark-type easily leapt off of Tangrowth's head and dashed over, although he looked at Ash with slightly hurt red eyes.

"You're disappointed you don't have a nickname?" Ash said softly as he kneeled. He looked Sneasel in the eyes. The dark-type nodded hesitantly, obviously uncomfortable with communicating his emotions. As a rule, dark-types were loners. They usually didn't have strong bonds with each other, even amongst pack based pokemon like houndour or sneasel.

Ash put a hand on Sneasel's small, muscular shoulder. The dark-type eyed him carefully. "Listen, you'll get a nickname if you want one. I just want you to be mature first, so that you can pick one you'll like for the rest of your life. Does that make sense?"

Sneasel nodded and growled his understanding. He seemed a bit happier, if more thoughtful. Ash smiled at him as Sneasel ran off and tried to sneak up on Infernus, who had curled up in the corner of the room. The trainer didn't even have to watch to know how that would end.

He walked over to one of the stone walls and took a seat, suddenly tired. It had been a long day, but at least he had a new friend. Nidoking curled up beside him, and Ash absentmindedly ran his fingers over Nidoking's rough plates of armor. The poison-type rumbled happily in response, although every now and then he would shoot dangerous glares at Oz.

Ash sighed and ignored it for now. They could fix this if it turned into a real problem. Nidoking was mature enough to get over it himself, given time.

For now he just had to wait. Surge would probably give him a few tips for training Oz. After seeing the man's Electivire in action, Ash would be glad for the help.

XX

In a week and a half, the trio had almost reached the Power Plant. The storm had become so violent that their progress had slowed to a snail's pace, and even Surge wasn't able to tough out the powerful winds and heavy rains. What they'd been in when Ash caught Oz was just the outer shell, and it was barely comparable to the horrible storm they faced now.

The storm hadn't been the only thing slowing their progress. They spent quite a bit of time spreading word of the evacuation to anyone stubborn enough to brave the storm or unable to leave without assistance. Two days had been devoted to gathering several dozen trainers and settlers they'd found lost in the wild and sending them to Vermillion. It just wasn't safe to be out here. At least the settlements could pool resources. Several Rangers they'd found were assigned to the group.

They faced about a dozen attacks a day, although the powerful trainers always managed to fight the pokemon off. Most weren't as strong as Oz's herd, but were still dangerous. As they treaded further into the storm the electric-types seemed to get stronger and stronger.

Fortunately, the same applied to Surge's pokemon and Oz. Raichu was probably capable of levelling a small town without too much trouble and Oz grew more and more wild. She just didn't have the discipline that Surge's pokemon did, and Ash was eventually forced to keep her in her pokeball. It just wasn't safe for the half-mad pokemon to be out. Her normally calm disposition had soured to the point that she'd attack anything in sight.

In contrast, Infernus was pathetically weak now. Ash would only let him out in a cave, but the sheer amount of water and the huge floods that drowned the area meant that he could barely keep the cave warm. He eventually kept his friend in his pokeball. The trainer wouldn't let Infernus suffer like that.

Despite the miserable experience, Ash managed to learn a bit about training electric-types from Surge. It wasn't much because the group had become practically silent over the grueling journey, but at least he had some information. Most of it consisted of Surge telling Ash how to find legal ways for Oz to feed, how to let her discharge excess electricity outside of battle, and exercises that would increase her already impressive endurance. While it was basic, it was important. Ash wasn't sure he would have retained much else. The days blended together monotonously.

"We have to finish this tomorrow." Surge said tiredly. They were around a tiny campfire Raichu had lit for them with a few sparks. It was horribly smoky and inefficient thanks to the wet wood, but it was warm. A miserable Plume cleared the smoke out every minute or so. "The storm's too bad to survive if we don't hit the power plant tomorrow. There's no way we can make it on foot."

"I think it's time for Steelix." Brock coughed. They'd all suffered a bit of sickness from the terrible conditions. There was plenty of effective medicine that kept them from feeling too cold and promoted blood flow, but the cold and wet was just too constant and strong.

The teenaged boy was shirtless, as were the others. Ash had already changed into his fresh set of pants and his laundry was laid out next to the campfire with the others. It would smell awful, but he could just buy new clothes with the hefty paycheck Lance was giving him.

Surge had them drying out their shoes each night as well, as well as their clothes. He'd told them both horrible stories about moisture in boots causing flesh to rot off after extended periods, although Brock seemed to already know about it. Drying their clothes was just common sense.

Lightning struck again, but they barely noticed it. It was common enough thanks to the sheer density of the bands of electric-types and the power of the storm. Ash didn't bother counting how many times it struck in the course of a minute anymore. He would have lost count by thirty seconds.

"Yeah." Surge grunted. He was the only one that didn't shiver. Raichu cuddled into the man's chest, desperately seeking warmth. "It wasn't able to get through the mud last time without freaking out. You'd better make sure it grows a pair and digs deep. We won't survive the winds about five miles in. I know Castform won't make it."

Sneasel growled and burrowed into Ash's side. Although he loved the horribly cold temperatures the storm brought with it, he hated how wet it was. Aside from trying to get dry, Sneasel had taken it upon himself to keep Ash as warm as possible with his thick fur. Of his pokemon, Ash only felt comfortable releasing Sneasel and Torrent. If there was any other way to get the smoke out, Plume would still be in her pokeball instead of in the cave.

"How will we know where to surface?" Ash chattered. The heat from the fire warmed his skin, but his bones felt like ice. He hadn't been this cold since the Caverns, although this was nothing compared to them. Overall it was just as miserable, however. At least the Caverns didn't have rain and wind.

Brock glanced at him in concern, which made Ash frown. While Ash toughed it out as well as the gym leaders, the trainer knew he couldn't keep it up for much longer. He had a strong will, but his body was far weaker. He had been lagging behind a bit, and he was sicker than the others.

"Drink some of this." Surge growled as Brock reached for the medicine. He reached into his pack and withdrew a silvery flask and a blanket. Ash caught the flask and stared at it with an odd expression. The trainer wasn't exactly sure about drinking the liquid inside. He gratefully accepted the blanket, however, and Surge handed another one to Brock. When Surge caught Ash's hesitance, he sighed. "It'll make you feel better."

Ash shrugged and unscrewed the cap. He waterfalled a small mouthful of it and his eyes widened. The alcohol didn't exactly taste good, but there was something in it that made warmth shoot through his body. While he knew it was mostly an illusion, since alcohol restricted the blood vessels, he didn't care. It made him feel truly warm, and he almost took another drink.

Brock plucked it out of his hand before he could, however. "You don't need any more of that." He said sternly. By now, Ash knew better than to go against him. Brock had quite a bit of practice dealing with his younger siblings and would always win the argument.

"Thanks." Ash said. He sounded normal this time.

"I'm not going to let you die on me." Surge said with a half grin. "Not after the shit you've survived. You'll go out in a better way than hypothermia."

Ash blinked, but laughed a few moments later. Sneasel climbed up into his lap from under the blanket. "So, how are we going to get into the power plant?"

"Steelix can detect electromagnetic fields." Brock explained. "The power plant should be full of electric-types that aren't tough enough to survive easily out in the storm. They'll produce enough to be like a second sun to Steelix. We'll just go up through the floor. There's no way we can remain outside."'

Surge grunted in confirmation. "If worst comes to worst, we can surface and use Castform. Little bastard's been a great help so far."

That was definitely true. While any attempt Castform made to change the weather was instantly neutralized and replaced by more dark clouds, the creature was great at causing lightning to strike far away from the group, although Ash didn't understand the exact mechanics behind it. He'd mostly learnt biology from the pokedex archives, and even that he only had a tenuous understanding of.

"Go to bed." Surge said exhaustedly. The effort to lead them and keep them on the right path was showing its wear on the ordinarily exuberant man. Even giants had limits, it seemed. "I'll put out the fire."

Ash nodded and walked over to his sleeping mat, which was next to Plume. She cooed worriedly at him and nuzzled his shoulder before he smiled at her and recalled the flying-type. He didn't want her to worry.

Sneasel whined as Ash recalled him. While he was sure that the dark-type and his thick fur would be nice, the blanket would suffice. Besides, he was already stressed and tired out. He didn't need nightmares as well.

XX

"This sounded a lot better on paper." Ash muttered as he stared into Steelix's gaping jaws. He'd only woken up a few minutes ago, and now he was having to do this. Brock looked at him from inside the steel-type's cavernous mouth.

"Just get in. We have to get moving. There are twenty miles to cover, and Steelix is going to be hurt by the end of it." Brock replied irritably. Ash sighed and climbed in, helped by a boost from Surge.

It was surprisingly dry. Ash supposed he shouldn't have been too surprised. Steelix ate earth, metal, and stone. The behemoth's massive jaws just had to be open to obtain its meal, which went straight down to its stomach. Steelix had an alien physiology, the details of which Ash wasn't sure of. Steel-types tended to have quite a few additional organs to accommodate their diet.

When Surge climbed in, Steelix closed its jaws. Ash breathed deeply as they were entombed in total darkness. The world suddenly rumbled as Steelix began to move. There was a bit of resistance that sent them backward, and for just a moment he worried that they would fall into Steelix's stomach. With the kind of acids required to dissolve metal, that wasn't a place he wanted to fall into.

Brock held him back, and motioned to the wall of metal that had shot down to protect Steelix's throat. "Don't worry about falling in. That flap is usually meant to keep water and dangerous pokemon from getting into the stomach, but it'll work just as well for us."

Ash nodded and resolutely held on to one of Steelix's large, blunt teeth as the creature tunneled through the earth. He didn't know how fast they were going, but the minor resistance of thousands of tons of dirt and stone was easily swept away by Steelix's immense strength and control. No movement was wasted.

"How fast is Steelix going?" He called out over the rumbling of the earth and the grinding of Steelix's segments. In the cramped quarters, it was easy to make out.

"Average speed is thirty miles an hour." Brock replied. Ash couldn't see what he was doing in the complete darkness of Steelix's maw. The sharp smell of iron pervaded it completely. "Dig is a pretty useful move. It augments his natural abilities and lets him push the dirt out of the way."

He voiced his understanding and just held on tightly. Ash couldn't say that it was the most comfortable way to travel, but it was certainly better than fighting through the surface. At this point the entire area was covered in water, aside from a few islands. Swarms of magnemite were everywhere and slowly coalesced into even larger swarms. Other electric-types had to take shelter to survive.

Aside from the dangerous magnemite swarms that brought immense lightning storms in their wake and made Ash's hair stand on end, the surface was plagued by large tornadoes, far greater than Torrent could hope to produce. It was only Castform that was able to calm the twisters and at least divert them, if not cause the forces of nature to dissipate.

While Steelix was certainly a fast way to travel, it was an insanely dangerous method. Riding anywhere but on top of its head on the surface could result in the rider falling into the crevasses between the beast's segments and get ripped to shreds as it moved. Being inside could easily result in asphyxiation or accidentally destroy entire segments of the surface by causing sinkholes and the collapse of unsteady buildings. There was a reason Steelix and Onix tended to stay a few hundred feet below the surface.

But they were desperate. If they didn't use Steelix, there might not have been an environment to destroy.

Ash was quiet as they tunneled through the earth. He knew what their mission was now. It had changed. They knew that the situation was bad near the storm, but they hadn't thought it would be this destructive. While they had gone into this thinking that they would simply check the power plant out and leave, that wasn't possible anymore.

If the storm continued to ravage Kanto, the region would shut down. Communications in and out of the storm were completely shot, teleportation was impossible, and the environment was ruined. There was a chance to save the situation before the unnatural storm reached the major cities and caused untold destruction, and they had to take it.

Their mission was to find the source and destroy it. It didn't matter if the Creature was the one sustaining the devastating weather, they would fight it. They couldn't escape unless the storm was disrupted, and all they cared about by now was finishing this mission.

He sighed and closed his eyes as Steelix sought their target. It was getting quite hot thanks to geothermal energy. There was only a limited supply of air in the cavernous maw, and Ash wondered if they would have to surface before they arrived at the power plant.

"We're going to need our full teams for this." Surge spoke up. Ash looked toward the direction of his voice and listened intently. "If we manage to surface inside the power plant like we're supposed to, we'll let them out right then. The plant will be crawling with electric-types, and if they're as aggressive as the last few we'll need every fighter we can get."

Ash nodded in assent. If the power plant was dry, Infernus would be useful. Plume would still be inside of her pokeball, however. With the kind of power the electric-types were throwing around she would be useless.

He was worried about releasing Electabuzz. While the boost in power would be quite useful to her, she was unstable. She would be a liability, so he resolved to release her in only the most extreme circumstances. Surge and his powerful, disciplined team would probably be the main fighters. Brock and Ash would focus mostly on protecting the humans and soaking up damage from the electric-types.

"Don't hold back, Runt." Surge directed at Ash. His tone was serious and held none of the joking Ash had grown accustomed to. "We don't want to kill these pokemon, but if we have to we will. They're too dangerous while under the influence of this storm and its master. One wrong step and we could all die."

Ash scowled but voiced his understanding. Surge's words were true, even if he desperately hoped to avoid the deaths of any pokemon. They weren't in control of their actions right now. It was the storm making them deadly.

The rest of the journey was spent in silence. They knew what they had to do and how to do it. Ash made sure to take as few breaths as possible. It was getting harder to breathe as Steelix tore through the earth. He thought that he could feel the immense steel serpent angling upward, which made him grab onto its tooth even tighter.

After an untold amount of time spent in total darkness, Brock spoke. "We're nearly there. Get ready to jump out."

Ash clasped his hands together and had a determined scowl on his face as Steelix suddenly surged straight upward. He held on tightly to avoid falling against the flap of metal, although he nearly lost his hold when Steelix burst through the earth with a mighty roar of grinding metal.

He winced as he slammed against the tooth that was about as large as he was. Ash would definitely have some bruises tomorrow.

All thoughts vanished when Steelix lowered its head to the floor and opened its maw, which revealed a white hallway that was lit by bright lights, although they flickered constantly.

"Get out!" Surge roared. He released all of his pokemon as he leapt out. A pikachu growled and leapt at him, but Surge expertly caught it. Although the pikachu's body exploded with energy, Surge's gloves were resistant enough to keep the voltage from hurting the giant. A moment later the man threw pikachu into the wall, where it was zapped by an angry Raichu.

Ash released Nidoking, Torrent, Dazed, Infernus, Tangrowth, and Sneasel. They quickly realized what was going on, although Nidoking stood by Steelix's open maw and protected Ash as the trainer jumped out.

He quickly moved to where he would be protected by Dazed's shields, but blanched as he saw dozens of electric-types racing toward them, minds filled with nothing but anger. They didn't like their home being disturbed. Ash was sure that many more would appear shortly.

"Steelix, block the hall! The rest of you, hold off the electric-types!" Brock shouted. His face was hard and set, a mirror of Surge's. All of his pokeballs released their contents onto the other side of Steelix's massive body, which was curled up in a pile of rubble and earth.

Brock stood by Ash as the battle raged. Dazed stayed with them and protected the vulnerable humans with a shield of shimmering energy, although it strained under the constant rain of ruthlessly powerful bolts of electricity. His hair stood straight up, although his hat kept it from being noticeable.

Surge backed up to stand with the other humans, although Raichu stayed out in battle. His electric-types were simply devastating to the horde of furious pokemon. Although their attackers were powered up to be a match for Surge's pokemon in an ordinary situation, Surge's pokemon had gained just as much strength from the storm.

While Ash's pokemon did their share in holding back the tide with well placed Ice Beams, Flamethrowers, Stun Spore, Blizzards, and gusts of cold air, Surge's team did the real damage. Surge had a wild grin on his face as the humans watched his pokemon casually take on the horde.

Raichu and Electivire were particularly dangerous. Each fired off Lightning Bolts large enough to blast through most of the hall with terrifying ease, with neither showing any sort of strain. Jolteon growled and fired hard, sharp bits of its fur into its opponents, which usually stabbed straight into their shoulder or chest before it paralyzed them and neutralized most of the electricity fired in return with a shield of arcing energy.

"Damn it!" Surge suddenly roared. Ash's eyes widened as he spotted what had elicited Surge's statement. A large swarm of protective magnemite had raced into the hall and looked as though they were ready to kill.

"Fire Blast!" Ash shouted. Infernus, who looked to be having the time of his life, roared and reared his head back. An instant later he spat a huge ball of fire into the midst of the swarm, which exploded. While the magnemite held devastating power at their disposal, they hadn't gained anything defensively. They were helpless to resist the heat and the force behind the explosion that sent most of the swarm straight into a wall, where they collapsed to the ground helplessly.

Most of the electric-types were stunned by the explosion, even if they weren't hurt as badly as the swarm. They stumbled backward, momentarily helpless. Surge took full advantage of it. "All of you, Lightning Bolt!"

Ash squeezed his eyes shut as Surge's pokemon each released the immense beam of electricity. He heard pained screeches from the horde as they were overloaded with their own element. When it quieted, Ash opened his eyes and saw that most of the horde had been knocked unconscious by the three Lightning Bolts.

"Good. We've got to get a move on." Surge growled as he took in the piles of unconscious electric-types. "I need to get to the generators to see what's going on. At the very least we can cut the supply of power to the plant and snap some of these pokemon out of it."

"Do I need to move Steelix?" Brock asked shakily. Ash suspected this was one of his first real battles. The others probably hadn't been as intense as this.

Surge shook his head. "We aren't going that way. It'll take us outside. Leave Steelix here and keep any others from following me and Ash. You don't have the firepower to press forward like we do."

"Understood." Brock replied seriously. He released two more of his pokemon. One was a large, ancient creature with a blue dome atop its head while the other was a Rhydon. "Rampardos, Bruna, you're coming with me. Fight off every electric-type you see."

The two massive creatures grunted in response and took a position in front of Brock. "Good luck, you two. Stay safe."

"You too." Ash nodded before he followed Surge. The massive gym leader had released two more pokemon. One was a large canine with blue and yellow fur while the other was a gigantic Electrode. Both followed Surge loyally, although their power was displayed through the arcs of electricity racing over their bodies.

His friends took up their positions around Ash. Sneasel followed right on his heels, barely noticeable amongst the larger, more powerful battlers. Nidoking and Dazed took his sides, while Torrent floated a bit behind him. The dragon-type was high enough to easily blast any attackers with an Ice Beam without hurting his teammates. Tangrowth followed a bit behind. Infernus stood behind Dazed with a wreath of flames around him.

"Team Rocket isn't here." Surge sneered. Ash looked over at him. After fighting the horde of powerful electric-types, which had certainly done a number on his friends, he wasn't surprised. The organization wouldn't be able to survive here for long. Nothing would. "Maybe they set up a machine or used the Creature, but we won't find any around here."

Ash nodded silently. There wasn't much to say. They just needed to keep fighting.

"There are more pokemon here." Surge warned as they stepped through the silent halls. There were scorch marks everywhere, and the machinery that had been here before was disrupted. Wires hung from the ceiling, likely torn out by scavenging pikachu. "But we aren't too far. To get to the control room, take a left at the end of this hall, then a right, then head straight down. It's where the generators are as well."

"Why are you telling me?" Ash questioned. Did Surge think something would happen?

"Just playing it safe." Surge replied. His voice echoed throughout the long hallway unintentionally. "There are dangerous pokemon here. You need to know."

The trainer nodded with a frown, although he didn't say anything else. Tension pervaded the air. He could hear electric-types rummaging around and the crackle of electricity from elsewhere in the power plant, but there was no attack on the two.

Surge and his pokemon stayed in front as they took a left, but they suddenly froze. Ash stopped as well. Infernus and Nidoking stepped out to see what was wrong, but Dazed instantly raised a barrier around Ash and Surge.

"Lightning Bolt!" Surge shouted. Ash's eyes widened imperceptibly when he realized that there was fear in his voice. He squeezed them shut when the massive blast of electricity ripped through the air in a blinding flash of light, but opened them as soon as possible. The gym leader motioned at him to go. "Ash, get out of here! I'll hold them –"

Dazed's barrier shattered as an immense explosion wracked the area. Ash hissed in pain as he was hurled into a wall, where he fell down to the cool tiles of the floor. His ears rang slightly as he struggled to pull himself up. He winced as he felt pain shoot throughout his back whenever he moved.

His friends were fighting. Dazed silently pulled him to his feet with a flicker of energy, and Ash managed to see an immense battle between his and Surge's pokemon and another horde of electric-types. This one was smaller, but no less dangerous.

He paled when he spotted Surge's form crumpled on the floor. As fear shot through him, he looked at Dazed, who had erected another barrier around him. "Get him out of the fighting."

Dazed nodded. Her eyes flashed and her pendulum swung toward her. Surge's massive body, which had quite a bit of blood gushing out from small yet deep cuts, quickly levitated over to him. Ash knelt by the man's unconscious form and sighed in relief when he realized Surge was breathing.

"Can you do anything about the wounds?" Ash asked hopefully. He didn't even care about the battle at the moment. With the help of Surge's empowered pokemon it would be a breeze. Even the electrode or voltorb that had exploded right next to them would be easily dispatched by Nidoking.

The psychic shook her head. Ash wasn't surprised, but sighed despondently nonetheless. He would have to wait until the battle stopped. Surge's pokemon could get their trainer to Brock. Brock was the one with most of their medicine and supplies. All he and Surge had brought were Paralyze Heals and potions. It was assumed that Dazed could protect them for the most part.

He glanced at the battle and saw that it was mostly over. While electricity still crackled through the air, it was mostly on the part of Surge's team. They fought ruthlessly from what he could see, each attack enough to do major damage to another pokemon.

Ash suddenly saw Tangrowth hurled backward from a blast of electricity, the force behind it too powerful for the grass-type to resist. It seemed that most of his pokemon had managed to stick behind Surge's to avoid getting hit, but Tangrowth was unlucky.

Tangrowth was recalled just before several more bolts of electricity exploded at his former position. Each were powerful enough to finish him off for good had Ash not acted quickly.

"Dazed, knock them out." He snapped, fury pounding in his mind. Dazed nodded silently. Ash walked out behind her and his shield and watched with satisfaction as her eyes exploded with bright blue energy. An instant later all of the opposing electric-types were frozen in an aura of psychic power. Surge's pokemon were ruthless in dispatching them with Lightning Bolts, their strength so great that they could easily fire off the hyper beam variant one after the other.

He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. Tangrowth's near death had sent a shock through his body. Adrenaline pounded in his blood and numbed his pain, but he realized that he had to change up his team. Some of his friends simply couldn't survive the ruthless power of the resident electric-types.

When he opened his eyes, the battle had ended. All of his pokemon watched him attentively, and Surge's team was huddled around his body. Electivire whirred angrily and electricity crackled through its fur, but Raichu simply curled up on Surge's red chest and whined. Jolteon paced anxiously, followed by the canine. Electrode sparked furiously, but didn't look as though it would explode.

"Take him back to Brock." Ash ordered. Electivire whirred at being commanded by someone beside Surge, but Raichu hissed and motioned for the hulking electric-type to pick Surge's body up. His voice wavered a bit. "He should be fine, just make sure Brock gets to him as soon as possible."

Raichu chattered worriedly and leapt up onto Electivire's shoulder. The electric-type was large enough to cradle Surge's immense body, although it put an obvious strain on the large creature. Electivire started moving, protected by several vengeful electric-types.

Ash watched them take the corner before he turned to his friends. He didn't need any of Surge's pokemon. They could fight just as well without the other team's distraction. The trainer frowned as he looked over his friends. Each had taken a hit, aside from Dazed and Sneasel.

Nidoking looked fine. His incredible resistance to electricity was enough to weather the greatest of the electric-types' assault. He had a few scorch marks, but was otherwise unscathed.

Torrent looked a little worse, but mostly fine. His bands of armor negated most damage from elemental attacks, plus he was naturally tough. There were a few nasty hits, but he could easily weather on. Not much could take a dragon-type down.

Dazed was safe. She mostly negated electric attacks with her shields and had stayed out of the crossfire for the most part. Ash knew she would stay out of trouble and could be an invaluable fighter against the electric-types besides.

Infernus simply looked angry. Flames licked over his body and cast a dark glow about him. His eyes were dark with fury and Ash could tell that he ached to finish this fight. It was obvious that he'd taken quite a few hits from the empowered electric-types, but was too tough to simply give up. Infernus never accepted defeat, and he'd fight on until there was nothing left to fight.

Sneasel had evaded the blasts of electricity. He looked completely fine, other than his fur standing straight up. But Ash kneeled down in front of him.

"Sneasel, I'm recalling you." He said seriously. The dark-type hissed and shook his head. His feather twitched. "You can't fight these pokemon. You're strong, but one hit could kill you."

Even though the dark-type hissed and did his best to convince Ash otherwise, he was recalled. Ash wouldn't let one of his friends meet their end in this power plant. Surge and Tangrowth had come close enough.

"I'm releasing Oz." He told Nidoking. The poison-type nodded, although his narrowed eyes showed his displeasure. There was no love lost between the two. "Grab her when I release her, but don't hurt her."

Nidoking snorted. The others cleared a space for Oz as Ash released the electabuzz.

Oz howled in fury as she was released. Lightning appeared in her fists and she prepared to attack everything in sight and begin a rampage. Before she could even begin, however, Nidoking grabbed her roughly. She struggled, but Nidoking's immense strength easily stilled her.

"You need to calm down." Ash said seriously. He stepped close to the electric-type. "I know you're angry and powerful right now. But I don't need the anger. Tangrowth has been badly hurt and I need your strength. Calm down."

Although Oz whirred and struggled for another few moments, she calmed down after she began to discharge immense amounts of electricity into Nidoking. He easily weathered the storm. When Oz seemed to be back to normal, Ash ordered Nidoking to let her go.

"That's better." He said soothingly. Oz nodded and bared her fangs, although not in an aggressive manner. "Let's go. Every electric-type here is an enemy. They feel the same anger you did. Be prepared."

She nodded and took point. Ash smiled and motioned for his friends to assume their positions as he recalled the instructions Surge gave him. He was rather glad the gym leader had that little burst of inspiration.

Ash took a deep breath and began to move. He didn't know how much further they had to go, but they needed to hurry.

XX

His skin tingled in a painful manner as the team reached the doors that would lead them into the control and generator room. He took a deep breath and looked back at his friends, who seemed just as determined as he was.

None of them were badly hurt. Although they'd had a few more run-ins with small packs of angry electric-types, which mostly consisted of pikachu, electabuzz, and voltorb, along with the odd swarm of magnemite, they had evaded damage for the most part. They all had a few new burns, but Dazed had done a wonderful job of shielding the team and had disabled the more potent enemies.

He suspected that they'd left around fifty electric-types in unconscious heaps behind them. Nidoking had been forced to use Earthquake several times now, although Dazed had teleported the team a few inches above the ground as he did so.

Of his friends, Infernus had taken it the worst. He'd been in the front of every battle. Infernus had easily torn through every rogue pokemon they fought, but had taken many wounds in the process. He would certainly have a soak in magma when it was safe. Ash didn't even know how his friend managed to stand after the wounds he'd sustained, much less carry on and fight.

Oz had done well. She managed to block quite a bit of electricity with the incredible power she possessed, although she'd fly into an uncontrollable rage every few minutes. Ash managed to snap her out of it by getting Nidoking to grab her and absorb some of the excess electricity.

Ash took a deep breath and stopped his recollection. He was a door away from potentially stopping the storm. Although he didn't know what he had to do, he was determined to find out. There was something in there, probably put in place by the Rockets. Whether it was a machine or the Creature, he would do his utmost to destroy it.

"Let's do this." He said softly. Dazed's eyes flashed as she blasted the doors open, which resulted in a sound much like a thunderclap.

His breath was stolen from him as he entered the room, which bore no sign of the destruction the rest of the plant had suffered. He looked around and noted that everything was working perfectly, just as the plant had been designed to do.

Ash frowned when his pokemon fell to their knees. Nidoking kept his mighty head directed at the floor as he kneeled to the presence in front of him. Torrent, Dazed, and Oz did the same, although Dazed kept her eyes focused on Ash.

The only one who refused to submit and stood alongside Ash was Infernus. His friend stared up at something with nothing but bloody determination in his eyes. Just as Infernus would never submit to any foe, he would not submit to anything that others saw as greater.

He followed Infernus' defiant gaze and froze when he saw the object of his friends' prostration.

The power plant's ceiling had been destroyed, which showed Ash the black clouds that swirled above and dominated the landscape for miles. They were curiously calm, and no rain or wind slipped through the gaping hole into the power plant.

But that wasn't what had snatched their attention.

A swirling shell of electricity, circling in an unnatural sphere, was on the top of one of the machines that was directly beneath the destroyed roof. His eyes widened when he saw the form of a massive bird hunched up inside of the sphere, so large that the avian creature put Plume to shame.

He could feel a gaze like a thousand bolts of lightning set its focus upon him. The shell suddenly surged upward in a beam of pure energy, a great column that was visible for miles around. Ash squinted, but refused to look away as the form of the dreaded creature was revealed.

A great bird looked down its spear-like beak at him. While hunched, it was about two or three feet taller than him. Its legs, bereft of any sort of protection from the harsh elements, were as tall as Ash and ended in wickedly clawed talons that gripped the machine so tightly that it bent inward under the great force.

The bird's eyes emanated a great golden light that made Ash feel as though he had been thrown into an electrical socket. Arcs of lightning ran through its feathers even in its passive state, and the aura it emanated was far greater than even Torrent's. Whereas Torrent's presence bespoke of dignity and wisdom, the bird's aura bespoke of power and primordial strength.

It suddenly straightened its posture and unfurled its great, spiky wings. Ash unconsciously backed away as dozens of lightning bolts descended from the stormy heavens and struck the creature, summoned by its smaller movement. The bird squawked, and thunder boomed in tandem. He could hear the storm roaring outside, along with the boom of countless bolts of lightning.

He stared at it as the bird squawked again, and the thunder shook the earth for miles around. Its long, narrow beak opened and closed once more, and he heard the explosion of lightning. Electricity exploded from its body with every slight movement, even when it didn't attract a hundred lightning bolts. All he could smell was ozone, which was a scent he would be happy to never smell again.

Ash couldn't believe it. Before him stood one of the Legendary Birds of Kanto, the second he had seen in his journey as a trainer. It was a bit smaller than Articuno at only eighteen feet high, but felt even more powerful. Nothing could have prepared him for seeing another of the primordial avian creatures.

Zapdos didn't attack him, unlike Articuno. It simply looked down at him with its alien, glowing eyes and let loose a thunderous squawk every now and then. His friends remained in their worshipful positions, aside from Infernus. But even Infernus knew better than to attack the great creature.

Its large, spiky feathers seemed to surge as it squawked again. Lightning surged around it, and Ash finally grew brave enough to speak.

"You need to leave!" He shouted. His voice echoed around the chamber, which was silent aside from the crackle of Zapdos' feathers and the roar of the storm.

Zapdos' glowing eyes pulsed, and Ash groaned in pain as it let out a shriek, one that was so much more than anything Plume had ever made. It was less a sound than an expression of the displeasure of a force of nature. Thunder rolled through the facility, and the lights flickered for a moment. When they finally failed for a few moments, the lightning surrounding Zapdos was bright enough to illuminate the entire chamber.

"Leave!" Ash demanded, supported by Infernus' defiant roar. The rest of his friends seemed helpless to resist Zapdos' might aura. "You're destroying Kanto!"

The Bird stopped at that and cocked its head at Ash. Its eyes pulsed with ancient, powerful energy and it opened and closed its beak. More lightning danced across its body, completely harmless to the Legendary.

But it made no attempt to leave. It simply regarded Ash as Ash would regard an insect. To it, Ash was so far beneath its notice that he might as well have been a caterpie.

He clenched its fist as it squawked something at him. The force and energy carried with the powerful expression made him stumble backward, but he refused to back down in the face of the powerful creature.

The storms had to stop. They had shown no sign of weakening, and with the power Zapdos emanated just by existing he didn't see the storm faltering any time soon. But if he couldn't convince the bird to leave and take its deadly storm with it, he would have to try and convince it by force.

It was a doomed prospect, and he knew it. But there was nothing else he could do in this situation. Electric-types could communicate with each other through electrical signals, but he suspected that even attempting to communicate with the great bird would result in permanent damage to Oz.

But he had to do something.

"Infernus, Fire Blast!" He shouted. The air stood still for a moment as his team realized what he had ordered. Ash could tell that they stared at him in shock and horror.

Infernus, however, gleefully carried out the command. He happily spat an immense fireball that burned its way through the air until it dissipated mere feet from the force of nature before them. The magmar growled in frustration when the Fire Blast was destroyed by the bird's presence, but didn't focus upon his failure.

Zapdos' eyes suddenly exploded with energy. Its body no longer consisted of flesh, blood, bone, and feather. It was lightning and storm clouds, given form by energies far beyond Ash's understanding. The Legendary stared down at Infernus furiously, and for a moment Ash thought that he had condemned his friend to death.

Zapdos squawked, but it wasn't even recognizable as mundane sound. Thunder tore through the earth and shifted stone and soil and lightning crackled from the sky and struck the great bird. Its eyes pounded with its yellow energy and a tiny arc of lightning separated from the storm that composed its body.

Before it could smite Ash and Infernus into nothingness, two Ice Beams, a concentrated Psybeam, and a blast of lightning, empowered by Zapdos' presence, shot toward it. Zapdos didn't even feel the attacks as they were disrupted by the field of electricity around it, but was aware of their presence.

Something changed in it. Although it was still Lightning and Storm made manifest, its earlier anger seemed to be tempered by something else. Zapdos was silent as it cocked its great head of lightning and darkness and examined Ash and his friends.

Its eyes, alit by an inner storm, dimmed. Ash's breath was stolen from him as he watched the great bird slowly transform from the titan that could destroy the power plant with a beat of its wings into the majestic bird he had first seen it as.

Zapdos' eyes were still bright as it suddenly gave a tiny flutter of its wings. Five tiny arcs of electricity jumped from its spiky feathers and crackled toward each of his friends. Ash watched in horror as all of his friends, even Nidoking and Torrent, collapsed to the ground. Infernus' body went slack, despite his sheer will to fight on.

Ash felt like rushing down to his friends, but a quick glance showed that they were all breathing. He took a deep breath and met Zapdos' burning eyes once more. The trainer ignored the lightning that surged through his body simply by seeing the bird's power and continued to stare at Zapdos.

It sent another roll of thunder crashing through the world as it squawked yet again, but Ash felt a knife of fear twist into his gut when its eyes grew brighter. He expected a bolt of true lightning to strike down from the heavens and reduce him to ashes for his insolence, but nothing came.

Zapdos thundered at him one more time before it beat its wings and took to the stormy skies. Ash crushed his hands to the sides of his head as hundreds of bolts of lightning split the sky and the earth groaned underneath the energy released by a single flap of the mighty creature's wings.

His teeth rattled and his bones shook, but after a few moments he steeled his will and looked upward just in time to see Zapdos enter the storms as the focus of countless blasts of electricity. A few more rolls of thunder pounded the earth before they slowly grew more and more distant. After ten more seconds, they disappeared entirely.

Ash stared at the sky for moment in disbelief at what had occurred. It was hard to believe that he had seen a second of the Legendary Birds, much less that he'd seen the Bird of Lightning. Zapdos was said to only appear in storms of lightning that covered the entire earth, which certainly seemed to be the truth. He wouldn't have minded if the legends mentioned that Zapdos caused the storms as well.

It was hard to believe that he was so lucky. Not many trainers saw a single Legend in their life, let alone two in their first year of training. He wondered if all Legends were as powerful and majestic as Articuno and Zapdos.

Articuno had frozen an entire cavern system while asleep and proved capable of conjuring a blizzard simply through beating its wings. Zapdos had created a storm that threatened to encompass all of Kanto without putting effort into it. It was disturbing, in a way. Creatures that he couldn't even begin to understand held so much power over the world and nobody could do anything about it. The Creature seemed capable of going toe to toe with them, but he didn't know for certain.

Not that he wanted the Creature anywhere near the Birds. He didn't want the Creature to defeat one of the majestic Legends. That wouldn't bode well for anybody.

Ash sighed and shook his head. There were more important things to worry about. Surge was badly injured, there might be electric-types roaming the power plant, and he didn't know how long it would take for the storm to dissipate. His foolish attempt to stop the storm might not have saved anybody. Zapdos might have taken it somewhere else.

He returned the friends that had stood up to a Legend in his defense and walked out. Hopefully he wouldn't encounter any angry pokemon on the way. They probably weren't thrilled with Ash for removing the source of their unearthly power.

XX

As it turned out, he had nothing to worry about. Any pokemon he crossed simply seemed confused, as though they had left a dream. A few had growled at him if he drew too close, but for the most part they left him alone.

Now he, Brock, and the unconscious Surge were in the power plant's rather dull atrium. It was just another hallway, but one that led to the outside. Appearances weren't too important in a power plant built solely for pokemon to feed in.

"He's going to be alright." Brock announced as he stood up from the injured Surge. Raichu and the others of Surge's team quickly rushed over to their trainer and stood by his side. "That Voltorb did a number on him, though. He needs to see a real doctor when he gets back to Vermillion. There's shrapnel inside of him that I might not have gotten and some of his burns are too severe for the potions to heal completely."

Ash sighed in relief, although unease settled in his stomach. How would they return to Vermillion? It was dangerous to travel since the storm hadn't dissipated yet, and he wasn't sure how they were supposed to traverse the lakes the storm had created in the first place. Northeastern Kanto might as well have been an ocean, albeit a shallow one.

He voiced his thoughts, to which Brock laughed. "The storm's already weakened. I haven't heard any thunder in a long time, and it sounds like the winds are dying down." Brock's tanned face grew serious. "What did you find? I can't imagine Team Rocket being able to maintain a machine in these conditions."

The trainer paused, unsure as to whether he should tell Brock about Zapdos. He knew the League wouldn't hold it accountable or try to track it when they were already busy with the Creature, but he wasn't sure that the truth should be revealed. Some might see the power of the Legends as a threat.

In the end, he told the truth. "Zapdos."

"C'mon, tell me the truth!" Brock laughed. When Ash just stared at him, his face fell. "You're serious?"

"Deadly."

Brock sighed and massaged his temples. "I don't even know what to say, Ash. That's going to have to stay on the low. I'm not sure whether anyone would believe us in the first place."

"You're a gym leader." Ash replied confidently. "They'll have to."

The rock-type leader smiled. "Maybe. I'll have to think about. Lance and the rest of the Elite Four will, but some people won't be so amenable. It'll take some work."

Ash nodded. He figured it was time to ask how they'd get back.

"Teleportation." Brock told him. A grin was on the older boy's face when he saw Ash's expression. "Well, that or we ride Steelix back to civilization then teleport. There's no way we can get through otherwise unless you want to fly."

He shrugged. Plume would probably be happy to take him, but the storm was still too dangerous at the moment. It was the reason why they hadn't opted to fly on pidgeot in the first place. The storm made it incredibly risky to fly in and to think about flying above the clouds was just idiotic. They'd go unconscious in a few minutes.

"Look, I'll take care of Surge." Brock said kindly. "You've been through a lot. Go rest. There's not much you can do anyway."

"Alright. Wake me if you need me." Ash replied. Although it couldn't have been more than two or three hours since he'd woken up, he was exhausted. At the very least he could get a nap. He'd make sure to revive his friends when it was done. By then some of their damage should have been healed.

XX

He looked at the sky in amazement. Brock had told him that it had cleared up, but he couldn't believe that he could actually see warm, blue sky. After weeks of dull grey it was wonderful, just as great as when he'd seen it in the Caverns.

There were still dark clouds, but for the most part it was a calm white. The change was astounding. It looked like Zapdos had decided to take its massive storm along with it. Ash could just hope it decided to slumber somewhere that it wouldn't hurt anyone.

Ash figured that he might as well check and see if communications were up now. Without the swarms of magnemite and the constant lightning, signals might be able to transmit.

For now he decided to try and call Lance. When he called his mother he wanted to have plenty of time to catch up. He'd have to hurry if he wanted to get to their home before she left for Greenfield. It was almost December.

He quickly dialed the Champions number and waited patiently for Lance to pick up. It only took a few seconds before the screen flashed to life and showed Lance's concerned face.

"Are all of you alright?" Lance demanded. His face seemed far less tense than the last time Ash had spoken to him, even through his worried expression.

"Brock and I are fine. Surge got hurt, but we just need to get him to a doctor when we get back to Vermillion." Ash explained. Lance nodded and some of the worry left him, although he looked curious about Surge.

Lance suddenly grinned wildly. It made him look much younger. "I don't suppose you've heard the news, right?"

Ash nodded cautiously.

"I'll send you a few files. But I figured that I should tell you that the money will be added to your account shortly." The Champion told him. That put a smile on his face. He wasn't exactly greedy, but he thought he deserved the money after the trials he and the others suffered through. "But I think I should tell you about the opportunity I mentioned while telling you about the job."

That got his attention. Ash stared at the screen curiously. The last reward Ash had received from the Champion after a job well done had hugely advanced his career as a trainer. Hopefully this one would do the same.

Lance was obviously trying to keep a grin down when he continued. "There's a ship ready to take you to Knot Island when you get back to Vermillion. I've sent the ticket to the gym. It'll tell you everything you need to know about the ship."

"Why am I going to Knot Island?" Ash asked with narrowed eyes. He never thought he'd return to the Sevii Islands. "Are there more Rockets?"

"Nothing so boring." Lance laughed. He crossed his arms and met Ash's eyes. "I'm asking you to come train with me."

XX

**And there it is! I'm sorry for taking so long, but this was a hard chapter to write. I've looked forward to writing this for months now, and nothing ever came out right on the first try. Plus I wrote the last half of it in two days. My hands hate me…**

**Well, I hoped you like it!**

**Make sure to review! **


	17. Chapter 17: The Champion

**AN: Thanks for the support! I never expected Traveler to get this much attention. You guys are great! Sorry the stupidly long wait time, but I got pretty sick about a week in. I tried to make up for it, but I might have gotten a bit sloppy at parts. **

**There were a few people that expressed confusion about how to pronounce Oz's name, and I apologize for not explaining it before. It's not pronounced Oz like in the Wizard of Oz, but like Ozone. Sorry about not mentioning that last chapter. **

**Anyways, that's it for the AN. I hope everyone enjoys the chapter!**

His heart stopped. Ash's eyes bugged out in surprise as he choked out, "What?"

"I want you to train with me." Lance repeated, a knowing smirk on his lips. His eyes glinted with amusement. "You've proven that you have the potential to tough it out, plus I've been ordered to take mandatory leave. I might as well do something productive during it, and you've proved worthy."

"But you're the Champion." Ash said numbly. "The League needs you to fight against Team Rocket."

Lance laughed and pressed a few buttons on his keyboard. "I've sent you a few files to look at. They should illuminate you to our current position in the war. Make sure to look at them before you pick up your ticket. I'll be waiting."

Ash nodded. A moment later Lance cut the power. He frowned and walked into the cool halls of the power plant. It was surprisingly sunny outside, and the air was muggy from the evaporation of the lakes created by Zapdos' storm.

Plume shrieked at him and landed right behind him as he opened the doors. Ash had let her out earlier. She needed to stretch her wings after so much time spent in the pokeball. He smiled and held the door open for her as she hobbled on unsteady talons into the power plant. She didn't want to be separated from him, and he reciprocated the feeling.

So as to not force Plume to struggle across the tiled floor of the building, Ash sat down against the wall just a few steps in. Plume stood as straight as she could next to him and bent down to see what he was doing. Ash idly stroked her glossy feathers as he looked down at the files Lance had sent him. They were in the application that also allowed him to access his Trainer ID, although he had his pokedex for that.

He frowned when he saw the name of the first of the three files. A spike of worry drove into his gut. "Mysterious Explosion near Pallet Town?"

Plume cooed softly and nuzzled his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. Ash numbly patted her wing as he accessed the file. What had Lance sent him? Some sort of news report?

His guess was correct. As he opened it, the screen showed a news anchor that was popular in Viridian City's territory, Martha Green. Ash remembered that his mother usually watched her in the mornings before she went off to work.

"This morning, an immense explosion occurred roughly fifty miles southeast of Viridian City, although at this moment we do not know who was involved in the event or what caused." She said gravely. It seemed that she had grown all too accustomed to delivering bad news as of late. "The League is confirmed to be investigating the occurrence, but no information has been revealed to us as of yet. We do have footage taken by cameras at Professor Oak's laboratory in Pallet Town, however, and we will show it now."

Ash tensed. If it was close enough to be visible from Pallet Town, he was not happy. That put his mother and Professor Oak in far too much danger, not to mention the other people and pokemon that lived in Pallet Town.

The video was of high quality, just as he would have expected from a camera owned by Professor Oak. It was probably one of the ones that the Professor put up around the Corral to monitor some of the wild pokemons' interactions with the Corral pokemon.

It showed off a clear image of a field, although it was angled upward. Ash wondered if Professor Oak had been having trouble with another spearow flock. The view displayed the massive expanse of grass, but also the large mountains and forests that encircled Pallet Town to the east and west. To the south lay the sea, although it wasn't visible in the video. Judging from the overgrown area and obvious neglect, it seemed to be on the very edge of the massive Corral, probably a mile or so away from the Professor's home.

For a few moments, nothing happened. Ash noted that the video was edited to have been dimmed a bit, perhaps because –

Ash managed to spy a massive cylinder of bright blue light shoot into the infinite sky before the light grew too intense and whited out the screen for a few moments. Plume squawked in surprise and reared back, but he kept his eyes firmly fixed upon the screen. He heard a vast shockwave inside of the video, dampened by the medium through which he was hearing it but still powerful.

Everything in the video was silent for a moment before the wilderness and Corral erupted in a frenzy. Pokemon ran as far away from the direction of the explosion as they could, each with its own unique cry of fear and confusion. Arcanine was barely visible in the video before it cut off. Ash managed to see that the old canine was dashing toward the site of the explosion in a blur of motion.

"I repeat, we do not know the cause of the explosion. Photos taken from an aerial view," here the screen showed pictures of decent quality, although they were unfocused and obviously taken by a camera attached to a pokemon if the unsteady look to them was anything to go by, "show that the explosion flattened two square miles of forest, although we do not know if any humans were injured in the blast. We will report back to you when we receive more information."

The file ended and placed him back at the selection page. Ash took a deep, steadying breath. He'd only gotten a short glimpse at the strange cylinder of energy, but he had a horrible suspicion of what had caused it. Only one entity that he knew of could utilize energy that shade of icy blue, let alone release that kind of power. The Creature was at work. But what had it destroyed, and why?

His face was hard as he accessed the next file. It was another video, but one much longer than the last. He selected it and watched carefully. Plume peered down at the screen warily, not happy with the sudden flash of light from last time.

It seemed to be attached to someone's helmet. The camera shook, but it was still of good quality.

"_This is ACE Trainer Morrison." A deep, steady voice began. The camera scanned over a huge pile of molten, smoking metal. It appeared to have cooled, but the metal of the structure was twisted into a mockery of its former self. Most of the building appeared to have been vaporized, however. Only the remnants were left. "My team has reached the site. Our investigation will begin momentarily."_

_He could hear a muffled voice coming from the video, which he assumed was from some sort of walkie-talkie or mobile communication device. Morrison was silent for a few moments. "Understood. Alpha Team, move in. Search for any identifying markers or evidence of the cause."_

_A hand that held a pokeball rose into the camera's view. Morrison released a large, stern Alakazam. It nodded at him with eyes perpetually wreathed in a dim glow of blue light. _

"_Scan for any survivors." Morrison commanded. Alakazam did not show any response other than closing its eyes. There was silence for a few moments before Morrison spoke again. He turned to face several other trainers in solid black uniforms, slightly different than the ACE trainers Ash had seen during the raid on Viridian. "Alakazam, show Gregory and Mackeroy their locations. Hurry. They're on the verge of death. Frederick, Avery, you're with me. We're searching the ruins."_

_There were a few muttered acknowledgements. Morrison's camera showed two of the ACE trainers splitting off from the main force. The remaining two followed Morrison as he turned around and headed into the smoking ruins. _

"_Spread out." Morrison barked. Alakazam lazily levitated next to him. As they neared the twisted heap of metal, Alakazam's eyes flashed. The metal wrenched itself into the shape of a door so that the ACE trainers could move in. "There are no survivors. Keep an eye out for any bunkers and identification."_

_The team was silent, but fulfilled their orders. Alakazam stuck with Morrison, stuck on the edge of the camera's vision, but Ash spotted an Arcanine and Machamp with the other two trainers. Morrison breathed lightly as he navigated through the ruins, alit by the bright midday sun. _

_Morrison released a Dugtrio, although Ash could barely see it from the camera's vision. "Dugtrio, search for any underground structures."_

_Dugtrio squealed and disappeared underneath the earth. Morrison patiently waited. Ash could dimly hear the barks of Arcanine in the distance. After several seconds, the ground-type popped out of the ground and forcefully displaced some of the wreckage. It grunted a few times and pushed through the ground. The ACE trainer followed the slow creature. Alakazam levitated beside him and avoided the need to push past heaps of metal. _

"_Good girl." Morrison said stonily. The camera focused and zoomed in on a small metal hatch. It appeared to have been mostly melted, but it was recognizable. Dugtrio was returned. "Alakazam, break it."_

_The camera didn't show Alakazam, but it showed blue light layering over the surface of the hatch. It shone more and more intense, and Ash could see the thick metal crumple under the immense force focused upon it. After a few more seconds it crushed inward with a loud clang. _

"_Frederick, Avery!" Morrison snapped. The two ACE trainers hurried over and flanked Morrison as the man became enshrouded in psychic energy from Alakazam and was levitated into the fortress. In several seconds the others joined him, if the rustling behind the trainer was anything to go by. _

_It switched to night vision. The bunker was completely wrecked, although traversable. Alakazam appeared in front of Morrison. "No survivors." The man muttered as Alakazam imparted the information into his mind. _

_Alakazam shifted debris out of the way with quick blasts of energy, which cleared the way for the ACE trainers. Morrison's breaths stayed slow and steady as he glanced around with the camera, which eventually focused on a bright red R painted on one of the metal walls. _

_There was a sharp intake of breath as they saw the symbol of Team Rocket, recognizable even through its ruined state. _

"_What have we found?" Morrison muttered. The camera started to turn, but the video suddenly cut off. _

Ash's face was puzzled. It was a Team Rocket base, obviously, but why had the Creature destroyed it? Had it rebelled? If so, he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. While it was devastating and a honed weapon in the hands of the Rockets, the Creature could at least be trusted to not cause too much pointless destruction. Freed of all restraints imposed by its handlers, it had free reign of the world.

He returned to the selection screen and accessed the final file, which appeared to be a document. Ash frowned as it appeared on the screen of the PokeNav. It seemed to be edited to show only a certain part of the full document, as it cut to a segment that had no lead up.

_Site of explosion determined to be major base of Team Rocket, evidence gathered from bunker beneath the wreckage suggests Team Rocket HQ. The amount of energy required to destroy the building and heavily damage the fortified bunker beneath, as well as the destruction of the surrounding forest, suggests that UEC is responsible. _

_Circumstances regarding UEC's sudden change is currently unknown, as are its whereabouts. Protocols regarding potential attacks by UEC should remain in place for now, at least until more information is discovered or UEC has been contained. _

_Most data hidden in the bunker is deemed recoverable by experts. Porygon teams have been dispatched, along with prototype Porygon- 2, to recover information. _

_Assessment by Elite Four Bruno calls for immediate action to press forward against Team Rocket. A major number of personnel were believed to be stationed at the base, as well as financial and other organizational records. Movements will be implemented to prevent a second rise, and the power vacuum left in its wake will be suppressed by Elite Four Agatha. _

Ash couldn't believe it. They thought Team Rocket was broken and sought to stamp on its ashes lest it rise up again.

Team Rocket hadn't been dealt a death blow by the League, although they had devastated its ranks and assets. They had been crushed through the efforts of their own creation. There was still a fight to finish, but the decisive blow had been struck.

He understood now why Lance could take the time off to train him. There wasn't a war anymore. Kanto didn't need its Champion now. The Elite Four and the wrathful hand of the League would eradicate whatever holdouts the terrorist organization retained.

Ash wasn't foolish enough to believe that Team Rocket was completely broken through their HQ's destruction. They wouldn't put all of their eggs into one basket. Fortunately, the League had already smashed a majority of their eggs. Only the fragments remained.

It was hard to believe. Team Rocket, the organization that had publicly terrorized Kanto for a little more than a decade, had been broken. Giovanni was likely dead. He'd seemed important to the organization, considering that he'd been trusted to handle the Creature and use it in his gym.

He scowled at the thought of the former gym leader. Ash would have liked to have defeated the man himself, or at least helped in his apprehension.

Ash sighed and took a deep, calming breath. He just needed to focus. Team Rocket's end was something he could think on later. For now he just needed to speak to his mother and make plans for the time being.

The trainer figured that he should call right now. Surge would wake up within the hour, at least if Brock's estimate was correct. He wanted to be completely ready to leave. Lance's call and going through the files had taken more time than he expected.

Plume lightly nipped his hat as he dialed in the numbers, to which he simply laughed and tapped her on the forehead. After several months with Tangrowth, it was an instinctual reaction. It had the added benefit of shocking Plume, who cocked her head and cooed at him in confusion.

He absentmindedly stroked her crest apologetically as the screen suddenly flickered to life and revealed his living room, which was even cleaner than usual. Ash frowned at that. His mother tended to clean obsessively whenever she was worried. That wasn't a good sign.

She'd known about his mission. He'd told her what he was doing after Lance had told him. While his mother wasn't thrilled that he was working for the League again, she didn't seem to mind too much. In comparison to the battles against Team Rocket, venturing into a large storm had seemed perfectly safe.

While it was common knowledge that electric-types were migrating to the storm, his mother probably hadn't expected their interference to be bad enough to block all signals. She was probably stuck between being worried sick and absolutely furious. Ash felt a sinking sensation in his stomach as his mother came into view. Her ordinarily smiling face was perfectly composed, which was never a good sign.

Just because he could explain his lack of communication didn't mean that his mother would be any less terrifying.

"Ash Ketchum, why did you not call me for three weeks?" His mother said in a perfectly even voice. Ash inwardly flinched. She definitely wasn't happy. Her eyes seemed tired, but tightly focused on him. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

Ash stayed silent. It was best to let his mother get most of her anger out now and then explain. She was much more rational when she didn't have a bunch of pent up emotions roiling inside her.

"The storm was on the news, Ash." She hissed. "I heard about how bad it got. More than twenty thousand people were evacuated. That doesn't –" his mother suddenly froze and examined him. All anger flooded out of her face, replaced with motherly concern. Her sudden mood swing was disconcerting, to say the least. "You're so pale! Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine." He said reassuringly. Ash knew he didn't look his best. It had been three weeks since he'd had a proper shower, although Torrent had helped when he hadn't been completely drenched. He had also gotten several bad colds and he was sure that the exhaustion incurred by the journey showed as well. The trainer wasn't sure if there was any evidence of the explosion he'd been caught in that was visible.

His mother wasn't convinced. "Are you sure? You look like you're about to collapse."

"I'm fine." He repeated. Ash tried to sound convincing. His mother didn't look too good herself. Seeing the effects of the stress he put on her made him feel guilty. "It was just a harsh journey. Nothing dangerous."

She stared at him suspiciously. Her expression was still one of worry, but she relented. "Alright. How was your journey? Did you see anything interesting?"

"I caught an Electabuzz." He said brightly, a grin on his face as he thought of Oz. Even without the storm powering her, Ash suspected that she'd be perfectly capable of keeping up. She needed some work, but her determination and willpower would make the process fly by. Although it was a struggle, Ash eventually decided to leave out Zapdos until he knew what story the League would be told.

"Really?" His mother questioned. She clasped her hands together in excitement. "I had no idea! Samuel never mentioned it."

He shrugged. "Communications were blocked. There were a lot of magnemite, plus the storm was really powerful once we got closer."

"That makes sense. I'm sorry I snapped at you." His mother smiled guiltily. "I've just been worried, you know. A lot's happened around Pallet lately."

Ash tensed up, almost imperceptibly. "The explosion?"

"You heard about that?" His mother said oddly. Her voice seemed a bit choked. "It was awful. For a moment I thought that there was an earthquake, or that another gyarados attacked. Professor Oak and I were having lunch when it happened."

"Did you see it?" He asked, barely able to hide his eagerness. An eyewitness account would be better than the video Professor Oak released, even if it was from far away.

His mother had a faraway look as she spoke. Ash frowned at himself. That probably wasn't the best question to ask. "No. Samuel did. He wouldn't speak of it, though. I haven't seen him since then. He's been very busy, but he won't say what he's doing."

In other words, he was doing something for the League. Although Professor Oak specialized in human-pokemon relationships, he had a vast amount of knowledge in many fields. He was often called in by the League for particularly interesting or unknown phenomena, or so his mother had told him.

"Was anyone hurt?" Ash said guiltily, aware that it should have been the first thing on his mind. He couldn't help it, though. The explosion held so much more significance than most people knew. It would dominate his thoughts for weeks to come, he expected.

His mother faltered. A brief flash of pain went through her eyes, but she pushed it away. "Y-yes."

"Who?" He questioned tentatively. It was certainly an important question, and one that could be major for both of them. Pallet was a small town. Ash knew everyone.

"No one you would know." She said quietly. "I knew him a long time ago, before you were born."

Ash nodded awkwardly. He wasn't really sure what to say in this situation. He'd never run into it before. "I'm sorry. Did you know him well?"

She smiled softly. "Yes, but we lost touch. It's been a long time. Don't worry about me, I'm fine. It was just…sudden."

He nodded again. Ash resolved to change the subject. "Are you still going to Greenfield?"

"In five days!" His mother said brightly, some of her perpetual cheer back. "I'm so excited to see little Molly again! She was just a baby the last time we visited. Spencer said she's a handful."

Ash smiled. He remembered that she had just been born when they'd last visited the town about three years ago. It would be a lie to say he liked babies in the least, but his mother did. Hopefully Molly would keep his mother happy and cheer her up for a few days.

He suddenly realized something, and his stomach sank. "I don't know if I'll be able to drop by before you leave, Mom."

"Why?" She asked. Although she didn't seem surprised, his mother looked slightly forlorn. The stress his absence had put on her was more visible than ever.

"Lance offered me a chance to train with him." Ash began carefully. His mother wasn't exactly happy with the Champion after the Sevii Islands operation. He dearly hoped that they never met. While it would undoubtedly amusing to watch her lecture Lance, it was something to avoid.

Her eyes narrowed, as he expected. "Lance? As in Champion Lance?"

He nodded and met her eyes guiltily. "I'll try to make it. I can ask Professor Oak to send Alakazam to get me. I have a day to get to Knot Island. I know I can make it to Pallet and back."

"No." His mother said sharply. Ash looked at her in surprise. She was always soft-spoken, even when delivering lectures. Her tone might have reeked with barely constrained fury while giving it, but it was always calm. "This is too important for you. I can wait. I know you'll come home before the Conference, and I can still call you."

"Thanks." Ash smiled.

His mother smiled back, although she looked tired again. "I might not approve of the Champion dragging you into League business, but he can help you a lot more than a visit to me could. You might never get this chance again. It's what's best for you, and that's all I want."

Ash couldn't really articulate what he wanted to say to that. All he knew was that he was deeply touched and would probably wrap his mother up in a hug right now if she was present. He would even stay when she tried to tell him to change his underwear.

In the end, all he could voice was, "Thanks."

But his mother seemed to know what he wanted to say, if her bright smile said anything.

A loud beeping sound went off in the kitchen. His mother leapt out of her seat. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I have to go – the food is burning. Make sure to call every now and then! I love you!"

He wasn't able to say anything back before she left the room in a panic, although the screen stayed on. Ash was about to cut the video, but he spotted a blur of soft blue fur in the air before it slammed into the screen and clung to it.

"How's it going, Seeker?" He laughed. Seeker, whose head was positioned directly over the camera, chattered excitedly and revealed her sharp fangs. From the tiny parts of the room Ash could make out, he saw Bruiser's leathery grey skin in the background. "Bruiser, have you kept up your training?"

Bruiser grunted and delicately pulled Seeker off of the camera, although she promptly clung to the machoke's head instead. Ash snorted in amusement. "Good. I'm going to be bringing you back to the team soon. We're going to be training with Lance."

The machoke gave him a wide, reptilian grin and pounded his chest, although Ash wasn't certain that he knew who Lance was. Ash smiled at him, although there was a bit of guilt hidden in it. He hadn't done a good job of keeping his friend in the rotation, although there had been quite a few unexpected events that had hampered his efforts. Hopefully this would make up for it. Bruiser was powerful, he just needed to get more combat experience.

"Ash, where are you?" Brock yelled. Ash snapped his attention to the direction the gym leader's voice came from. "Surge is getting up!"

"Coming!" He shouted back. Plume squawked in annoyance at the loud noise, so Ash lightly stroked her glossy feathers to placate the great bird. "Sorry, Plume. I know you don't like it when I yell. Can you tell me where Sneasel is?"

Plume shook her head and cooed softly. Ash gave a half-smile. It wasn't unexpected. Sneasel had been interested in exploring the power plant, and Ash wasn't inclined to stop him. The dark-type needed to venture out on his own, and Ash wasn't too concerned about the electric-types that still congregated in some of the halls. His friend was tough enough to fight them off, but the electric-types were still too powerful for Sneasel to risk sticking around to finish them off. Most of the electric-types were confused and placid now, anyway.

"Could you call him, please?" He requested. Plume nodded and let out an earsplitting shriek, one that was sure to attract Sneasel. Ash had made sure that each of his friends were able to get Sneasel to return to him, should the dark-type ever run off. It was a standard practice when dealing with dark-types and infant pokemon.

He crossed his arms and patiently waited. After a while Sneasel rushed into the hallway from deep within the power plant and skidded to a halt. Sneasel whined at him when he realized that there wasn't food, which was his usual reward for coming when called.

"Sorry, buddy." Ash said with a smile. "I need to return you. We're going back to Vermillion. After that we'll be training with someone that's really strong. I'll make sure you're involved. Is that a fair trade?"

Sneasel eagerly nodded and acquiesced to Ash's request. He disappeared into his pokeball. Ash glanced over at Plume. "Thanks for calling him."

She nodded and cooed at him one last time before she was recalled. Ash clipped both of the occupied pokeballs to his belt and started walking to where the group had set up camp. Brock would probably be annoyed that he took so long, but would probably understand. After dealing with his younger siblings, he knew just how hard it could be to get them corralled.

It was just a short jaunt to the camp. He didn't have any trouble with the dazed electric-types wandering the halls. A pikachu that seemed slightly more lucid than the others sniffed at him and a few magnemite levitated over and curiously buzzed at him, but most barely seemed aware of his existence. There was nothing to fear.

"What took you?" Brock asked in annoyance. Surge was sitting up, his entire chest covered with bandages. Most were slightly bloody, although the red stains didn't seem fresh. Ash wouldn't have been surprised if covering Surge's chest had taken their entire supply of bandages.

"I had to get Sneasel." Ash replied as he walked over. He'd cleaned his own portion of the camp up earlier. The materials and his sleeping mat were lying in his pack now, either in the storage compartments or in the physical item itself.

Brock nodded. His face, hard with stress, softened a bit. "I get that." He said quietly, a bit of longing in his eyes. The gym leader sighed and pulled two pokeballs from his belt. Brock released two Alakazam from the spheres, both of whom took a moment to scan their surroundings before closing their gleaming eyes in contemplative silence.

"They'll be taking us back to Vermillion." Surge directed to Ash. He glanced over to Brock after Ash nodded his understanding. "Kid, did you get the report sent in?"

"As soon as communications were clear." Brock said stoically, all business. "Lance should have received it by now. I told him about Zapdos, but I don't know how he'll spin that to the League."

Ash was quiet. He wasn't sure if they'd heard about the fall of the Rockets yet, and if not they'd hear about it in a few hours anyway. The trainer had to admit that he was surprised that Surge didn't show much of a reaction to Zapdos' presence. Brock had probably told him in Ash's absence.

"Are you ready to teleport?" Brock asked Surge concernedly. Ash could easily understand the worry. Surge was one of the toughest people Ash had ever met, but the amount of blood that soaked the bandages was worrying. The gym leader was still rather pale and his face had several burns and bruises.

"Yeah, just give me a minute." The powerful man growled. He pulled himself up slowly. "Bet you're glad to get back to the litter, eh, Brock?"

Brock gave a short, barking laugh. Most people probably would have showed offense, but no one could have trained under Surge without developing a thick skin. Ash knew that Surge wasn't trying to be hurtful, regardless. It was just his personality.

"You could say that." The teenager snorted. "I can't say I won't miss the quiet. I'll definitely be glad to get away from you, though. Getting shocked every day isn't exactly fun."

Ash's lips curled up into a grin, although he stayed quiet. It was amusing to watch their interaction.

"If you didn't deserve it Raichu wouldn't do it." Surge growled as he stood up on limbs weak from his recovery. Ash had no doubt that he would still be a force to be reckoned with, however. "Let's get out of here. And Brock?"

Brock inclined his head to the giant as his Alakazam's eyes began to burn.

"Give your old man a punch in the jaw for me." Surge said with a dark grin. "Bastard deserves it."

The younger gym leader matched the grin, although his eyes were much more serious. An instant later he vanished along with the Alakazam. Ash had to marvel at the psychic-type's skill. Dazed had grown adept enough with teleportation that she only produced a small flash of light, but Alakazam and Brock simply warped through time and space seamlessly. Hopefully Dazed would be able to master teleportation to that extent one day, although her species' natural limitations would probably keep that from happening.

"I'm ready." Surge grunted to Ash. The trainer nodded and patiently crossed his arms as Alakazam's eyes flashed a bright purple and it crossed its twin spoons. An instant later they were transported hundreds of miles away into one of Vermillion City's hospitals.

Ash glanced around the familiar building. It was just as he remembered it: stark white and incredibly huge. It was one of the largest buildings he'd ever been in, even if he hadn't really been up to exploring it the last time he was here.

"Lt. Surge?" A short, squat man in a lab coat asked. He ignored Ash and Alakazam.

"Yeah?" Surge growled. He held his chest in pain and his face was contorted slightly. Ash wondered just how bad his wounds hurt. Brock had managed to keep him stable, but had mentioned that Surge needed medical attention as soon as possible.

The man smiled. "I'm Dr. Smith. The League called. Everything's ready. We'll just do an inspection before determining if you need further treatment."

Surge nodded stoically and stood up to his full height, which caused him to tower over everyone in the room. Ash was perceptive enough to catch the wince of pain that accompanied the movement. Despite the pain he must have felt, Surge was too proud to reveal any weakness. He was one of the toughest people Ash had ever met.

"Take the Runt to the Vermillion gym." Surge commanded before he made to follow the Doctor. Alakazam nodded. An instant later they disappeared again, although by the time Ash finished blinking they were at their destination.

"Thanks for the help." He said politely. Alakazam nodded stiffly at him before it vanished into nothingness. Ash was extremely impressed with Alakazam's sheer endurance. While it had likely been specifically trained to teleport like that, it was still a notable feat. It took a lot of power to teleport long distances, especially in such a short period of time.

He glanced around. He'd appeared in the room that he'd met Surge in before they'd left on their mission. The large computer, which was locked onto a black screen, hummed gently. Ash wondered where he was supposed to look for the ticket Lance had told him about.

"Who's in here!" A loud, threatening voice snarled. Ash shot a look over to the door and saw that one of the gym trainers stood in it. He didn't recognize the tall, fearsome woman, but that didn't seem to be a problem. "Wait, are you that kid I got a message about?"

"Probably. My name is Ash Ketchum." He said tersely. The heavily muscled woman glared at him suspiciously before she seemed to shrug. She pulled out an envelope and handed it to him.

"Here." She snapped. "It was waiting in the Lt.'s office for you. Now, scram! We've got too many trainers waiting to waste time with you."

Ash rolled his eyes as the bad-tempered gym trainer stormed out of the room. He followed in her footsteps, not particularly concerned with her harshness. Compared to Surge she was a teddiursa, although Surge's words ceased to have the bite the trainer's did.

There was a battle going on as he left the small room. He eyed it with interest. A girl that was about six or seven years older than him used a pokemon he recognized as Meganium against one of the gym trainer's Magneton.

She was certainly skilled, although she wouldn't have been able to handle Surge. Her choice for the battle wouldn't have held up to Surge's overwhelming offensive power. Ash thought that she looked familiar, though. He just couldn't place her face. It was odd, he felt as though he should know her.

Meganium had quite a bit of power behind them and could take hits that most other grass-types couldn't, but they didn't have any sort of aggressive instincts that were needed in high-level battles. They were herbivores. Most of the time they would flee from a fight, although they could be incredibly dangerous when provoked or cornered.

On the bright side, their weight and many ranged attacks meant they could easily stand up to flying-types. Most grass-types were weak to flying-type attacks because they tended to be extremely light and frail. A powerful blast of wind would be impossible for the majority to resist.

Additionally, her Meganium didn't seem trained specifically for battle. Its attacks had plenty of power and obvious skill behind them, but it seemed to unconsciously spend more energy making the attacks look impressive than effective. Meganium and the trainer also made mistakes that no experienced battler would.

He snapped himself out of his thoughts and took one last glance at the oddly familiar girl before he headed out of the gym into the tantalizing sun. Ash had a wide grin on his face as he smelled the crisp, salty air of Vermillion. It was chilly, but compared to the deep freeze of the storm it was perfect.

Ash took a moment to bask in the heat of the sunlight before he looked at the envelope. It had nothing but his name written on it, along with the League symbol: A stylized Rhydon, the cornerstone of the first Champion of Indigo's team, bisected by a line to create two halves.

The trainer deftly opened the envelope and pulled out a single ticket. A scrap of thick, glossy paper was attached to it.

"Ash, the ship will be waiting for you at the League docks. Look for the Seagallop Ferry under Captain Darrow." Ash muttered. He recognized the ferry's name. They were a line of extremely fast ships used by the League to reach areas that they couldn't just teleport into, due to political or tactical reasons.

The Sevii Islands didn't like Indigo or Hoenn butting into their affairs, and tended to frown upon teleportation into their territory. Out of all the regions, they were amongst the most xenophobic. Only Sinnoh came close, and that had ebbed away in recent years. Now the massive region was as accepting as any other, if a bit stiffer.

He continued reading. "I will be waiting for you at the Center on Knot Island. Get some rest on the ferry. We will leave for our destination once you arrive. – Lance."

Ash had a determined look on his face as he carefully placed the ticket and letter into his pocket. He'd be ready for anything Lance could throw at him. He wouldn't let the Champion down.

The trainer moved quickly toward the docks. It wouldn't take long to find the League's partitioned area.

XX

"Captain Darrow?" Ash asked as he stepped up to a large, sleek ferry. It had the League symbol emblazoned upon the side and had the same number as the ticket.

The tall, grizzled man that stood in front of the ramp eyed him. "You Ash Ketchum?"

Ash nodded and held out his ticket. The man eyed it for a moment before he shoved it into the pocket of his coat. "Come on up. The League wants you at Knot Island as soon as possible. You might want to take a nap in your room. It's about a twelve hour trip. Just head into the cabins. You're the first on the right."

"Thank you." He responded before he walked onboard. Ash glanced around the impressive ship. It looked extremely sleek and fast, but also tough. The trainer knew that these ships could go practically anywhere, as long as it wasn't into a hurricane.

The Captain didn't give Ash a second glance as he headed up to the bridge. He was much less interested in Ash than Taggart had been when he'd taken him back to Pallet Town. Maybe Darrow had been at it long enough to know better than to ask questions.

Before he followed the Captain's advice, he released Plume. She shrieked as she appeared, a challenge to any opponents. Ash smiled and stroked her feathers, which elicited a soft coo from the great bird and caused her to lean her large head into his hand.

"Hey, girl." He said quietly. "We're heading to Knot Island now. I figured that you'd want a chance to stretch your wings. Just land and call for me if you want to come in."

Plume cooed again before she took off. Ash stumbled backward as the powerful gust of wind buffeted him, but kept his feet. He'd gotten plenty of practice resisting the winds by now.

He watched her blast into the atmosphere with a small smile on his face before he turned away. The trainer figured that he should follow the Captain's suggestion. Ash could feel the exhaustion from the last few weeks heavy on his shoulders.

He headed into the cabins, which were accessed through a door directly below the bridge, and found his room. Ash noted that it was quite similar to the room he had during the journey from Cinnabar Island to Pallet, although a little less luxurious. It was still quite nice, however, and he eagerly sat down on the bed before he released his friends.

Ash opted against releasing Torrent, Infernus, and Oz. Torrent had grown too much to be able to fit into the cramped quarters of the cabin. It was a reminder that although he was fully evolved, he wasn't completely mature yet. He would grow for another few months to a year at the least. Infernus didn't do too well inside. Oz might have panicked if she was released in an unfamiliar environment, especially one so cramped.

The trainer kept a careful eye on Sneasel. His friend had lost some of the aggression from his puberty, although the process was still going on. Instead of attacking viciously and without warning, Sneasel had begun to steal things. It was something he'd only barely noticed during the mission, since he'd had more important things to worry about, but he'd noted it. Hopefully he could curb that behavior as well, although he doubted he could stamp it out altogether.

Nidoking curled up beside his bed, although he took up a good portion of the room in the process. Dazed simply stood next to him in silence, content to simply be around him.

As expected, Tangrowth gave Ash a light hug with one of his vines before he tried to catch Sneasel. Ash smiled as the dark-type hissed in annoyance and playfully slashed at the seeking vines, and couldn't stifle his laughter when the indignant Sneasel was easily wrapped up and tickled.

"We're going to train with Lance." Ash said quietly to Nidoking and Dazed. Nidoking's narrow black eyes widened as far as they could go and his large ears perked up with interest. Dazed snapped her head toward him and stopped polishing her pendulum. "It's about a twelve hour boat ride, so get some rest. I have no idea what we'll be doing with him."

Nidoking grunted in return and curled up into a ball, his armored back to the door. Ash patted his shoulder before he stood up. There was a bathroom in the cabin and he needed to get a proper shower. He was filthy. It would be nice to sleep without bringing a bunch of dirt into the bed.

He narrowly ducked underneath an errant vine from Tangrowth before he walked into the room. Before he thought about getting into the shower or any other luxuries that he hadn't had for the last few weeks, Ash looked at his reflection.

It was no wonder that his mother thought he was sick. Although he was healthier now that he'd had time to rest, he still looked awful. His face had lost some of its tan thanks to the constant cloud coverage and the illnesses he had suffered through had left him even paler. While he didn't look as though he suffered from malnutrition, his eyes were a bit sunken in and exhaustion was obvious in his face.

Ash rubbed some of the fatigue out of his eyes and splashed some water on his face. The icy liquid did the trick, and he felt more of the exhaustion fade, if only for a moment. He looked disdainfully at the layer of mud that caked his boots and pants. As a trainer it was a common sight, but he'd probably have to get new clothing. It was a good thing he had several extra pairs in his pack.

Hopefully the shower would make him feel better. At the very least it would be better than getting doused by Torrent.

XX

Ash leaned onto the railing as they approached Knot Island. His friends were walking around the deck. Plume let out a piercing shriek every now and then. It had gotten too dark for her to safely fly several hours ago, so she had landed. By then Ash had finished his nap, which ended up being about seven hours, and had left the cozy cabin.

"Are you ready for this?" He asked Nidoking as the Seagallop Ferry danced across the water at a dizzying pace. A small spray of salty water hit him every now and then, but he bore the annoyance unflinchingly. Ash kept his eyes on the great form of Mt. Ember, whose top glowed with a great inner fire. He frowned at that. Mt. Ember was supposed to be dormant.

He was distracted by Nidoking's low growl. A dull thud echoed through his ears as his friend crushed his claws together in an expression of determination.

"I think so too." He said softly, his eyes locked on Mt. Ember. Its light, dim from this distance, was still large enough to drown out the starlight from the heavens. "If we aren't, then we'll become ready. This'll make us strong."

Nidoking grunted again and affectionately tapped his shoulder. Ash smiled and returned the gesture. He knew that Nidoking would fight just as hard as he would to get the most out of this training. Lance might be a Master of the dragon-type, but there was no doubt that he didn't know a lot about other types as well. To be a Master one had to know the ins and outs of every pokemon that might show up and what techniques they could learn.

Ash had to marvel at the pace at which they approached the island. It had been a mere speck in the distance a few minutes ago. Now they had almost arrived. He knew that the Seagallop Ferry was fast, but it was hard to appreciate its speed without encountering it firsthand.

On a ferry such as Captain Stewart's, the trip from Fuschia to Cinnabar was about a week if the Seafoam Islands were skipped over. It would take it another twelve hours to a day to reach Knot Island, although the ship that he'd taken with the Champions had made it in an hour.

It would have taken Captain Stewart's ferry a good four or five days to reach Knot Island from Vermillion. The Seagallop Ferry had cut that time down to twelve hours. He couldn't help but be amazed at just how fast it was.

But that didn't matter. Right now he needed to prepare. They'd reach the docks in a few minutes.

"I'm recalling you." He announced to his friends. Ash heard a few noises of understanding before he returned his friends. Only Sneasel was left out, and the dark-type swiftly dashed over and leapt up onto Ash's back. "Hey, Sneasel. Are you making progress on Ice Beam?"

Sneasel hissed an affirmative, which put a smile on Ash's face. The dark-type's training had slowed thanks to the mission, but they'd kept up lessons when the weather wasn't too bad. Torrent was particularly good for teaching Sneasel in the harshest parts of the storm. Training had only been abandoned when using an ice-type move was deemed unsafe. Hypothermia would have put a dampener on the mission.

"Good. If you get to fight any of Lance's dragons, you'll need it." Ash said with a grin. He wasn't quite sure how this training would work out. It wouldn't be too much of a surprise if Lance had brought some of his weaker pokemon along for a workout. There was no way Ash could defeat any of his main team.

He looked back at the sea, which was a dim orange thanks to the light of Mt. Ember. Ash wondered if they would be training there. Most of Knot Island seemed fairly mundane and absent of powerful pokemon or rugged environments. He could only see Lance training in the most extreme of locales.

Ash held onto the railing tightly with one hand. The other was used to steady Sneasel as the ship turned and slowed. While it was still fast, it wasn't even close to its previous speed. Sneasel hissed in annoyance and clasped on tightly to Ash.

As the Seagallop Ferry slowly angled toward Knot Island's port, which was bright with lights, Ash wondered how well Sneasel would adapt to the new environment. Sneasel had evolved to the harsh winters of the north, not hot, humid tropics. He might have to try and cut some of Sneasel's thick fur. His friend normally kept it a perfect length, but Ash was afraid that Sneasel would overheat otherwise.

He took a deep breath of warm air as they slowed down even more. Knot Island wasn't as hot as it was last time he'd been here, which was in the midst of summer, but it was still much hotter than the crisp, cold air of Kanto. The first few days here would be brutal, especially if the training was as intensive as Ash expected.

The ship came to a stop, and Ash waited patiently as the ramp mechanically lowered to the dock. He waited for Captain Darrow to come out of the bridge before he stepped off. There were a few burly sailors hanging around.

Ash took the opportunity to examine Knot Island. The town was larger than when he had left it, and seemed to be in much better condition. It was still rather small, but it was larger than Pallet Town to a fair degree. He wondered whether the Rockets had destroyed it and chased most of the residents off or if inhabitants of other islands had moved here.

"Thanks for the ride." Ash said gratefully. Darrow nodded.

"You're welcome." Darrow glanced over at the large, modern Center that dominated the town with his hard brown eyes. "I suggest you hurry. The League message was rather urgent that you reach the Center as quickly as possible."

The trainer nodded and shouldered his pack before he set off. Sneasel swung himself up to a more comfortable position as they made their way through the town, which was alit by the light of Mt. Ember and a large number of streetlights. Some of the sailors edged away from him when they saw Sneasel.

He knew that the Sevii Islands didn't use pokemon to the extent of other regions. They didn't have Apricorns to develop pokeballs from, and the pokeball had been a rather late arrival to the Islands. While they still had pokemon as friends and partners, there were few trainers and most work relied on humanity's skill and effort. Most only had one or two pokemon, if any. It was one of the reasons they were so fiercely independent.

It didn't take long for him to reach the Center. He took one last glance down at the town before he stepped in. The inhabitants of Knot Island had done an amazing job of bounding back from the Rocket occupation.

Sneasel sniffed the air curiously as they walked into the cool Center. He'd forgotten how large it was. The Center easily matched the sheer size of one of Saffron's Pokemon Center. Ash glanced around and looked for Lance. It was around midnight, but Lance should have expected him to arrive about now.

When he turned to look again, a wide grin split his face. Lance, who towered above all of the few islanders still walking about at this hour, strode towards him. Two pokemon followed on his heels. One was the pokemon Ash had seen resting on Lance's desk the last few times he'd called and the other was mostly blue, but had a thick helmet of a grey, bone-like substance. Neither were particularly impressive, but Ash expected that they would be monsters when they reached adulthood.

"Ash!" Lance boomed. Sneasel's ears laid back as he hissed at the unexpected noise. The Champion didn't even notice. "It's good to see you. Good job with the mission, by the way. I could barely believe the report when I read it."

"I couldn't believe what I saw." Ash admitted as the Champion walked up to him. Lance motioned for Ash to walk alongside him as they headed deeper into the Center, close to the Trading Room. "It was stronger than anything I've ever seen."

Lance sent a quick glance at him. "Even the Creature?" He asked nonchalantly. Ash looked back questioningly. The trainer had no idea where he'd heard the name Ash came up with for the Creature.

"Sabrina included it in her report." Lance said with an easy grin as they entered the Trading Room. "It's as apt a name as any. Much better than UEC, anyway."

Ash sent another look at Lance, whose face grew a bit more serious. "Unidentified Enemy Combatant. It's the Creature's latest designation. Our analysts went through a host of others before we found the Rocket HQ. Its ruins, anyway."

"So it's really over?" Ash asked quietly, a silent contemplativeness in his eyes.

"It's never over." Lance said bitterly, although his face loosened a bit when one of the tiny creatures by his feet tugged on his pants. "But for now, there's a break. Team Rocket is shattered, and we're hunting down the fragments. As long as I'm Champion, Team Rocket will never rise from its ashes. Kanto has peace for now, and I intend to keep it that way."

He didn't have much to say to that. Ash had never heard Lance so passionate, although there were glimpses of that side of the Champion during battles.

"You don't have a limit on the amount of pokeballs you can carry." Lance spoke up, quiet now. "Bring all of your pokemon. They deserve to come."

"How long will we be training?" Ash asked as he typed in Professor Oak's number. He hoped the Professor wouldn't be too annoyed at being woken up. It was rather late, after all. As the video phone began to ring, Lance spoke.

"A month, give or take a few days." Lance shrugged. Ash looked back and noted that the Champion didn't seem too happy about being pulled away from the League. "They think I've been pushing myself too hard. This is supposed to be my downtime. I figured I would do something productive, and you deserve a bonus after everything you've helped the League with."

Ash smiled a bit, but paused when the screen suddenly flickered to life. Professor Oak didn't seem surprised to see him.

"Ah, hello, Ash." The older man said tiredly. He didn't look exhausted, but it was clear that he would have preferred to be asleep. "I've been waiting for your call. Which pokemon would you like to switch out?"

"I'd like you to send over Bruiser and Seeker." Ash grinned. Oak squinted at him suspiciously before he checked something on his computer. The Professor smiled lightly and shook his head before he placed the two pokeballs into the trading machine. It looked like he had prepared for this. "Wait, did you say you were waiting on me?"

Oak nodded as he transferred the pokeballs to Ash. "Indeed. I received a rather urgent message from a League representative today." He quickly glanced at Lance before he focused back to Ash. Oak wasn't surprised to see the Champion. "Delia told me about your training, so it wasn't too unexpected."

Ash frowned, but didn't say anything. He simply picked Bruiser and Seeker's pokeballs up. Seeker wouldn't be training thanks to how timid she was, but he wouldn't leave her alone at the Corral. She deserved better, and he would enjoy seeing the zubat again.

"Thanks, Professor." He said with a dip of his hat. Ash gave the older man a rueful smile. "Sorry that you had to stay up."

"It's fine." Oak waved his concerns away. "I wish you good luck on your training." Before Ash could disconnect from the call, the Professor seemed to remember something. "Oh, Ash?"

He cocked his head at the man and waited for his question.

"Gary's decided to head into the Seafoam Caverns. The Ice Time is over, and he's trying to find somewhere to train for the Conference." Oak explained. Ash just nodded, a bit of dislike in his gut at the mention of his rival. "Do you have any advice?"

Ash couldn't say he wanted to help Gary, but he would at the Professor's behest. Oak had done far too much for him to even consider refusing. "Stay out of the deeper levels, and run from any dewgong. Have a pokemon that can echolocate."

Oak hummed his agreement. "Thank you, Ash. It has been far too long since I travelled through the Caverns. My memory isn't what it was."

"You're welcome." Ash said quietly. He looked up. "Could you tell my mother that I said goodbye before she leaves? I'm not sure I'll be able to call her in time."

"Of course." Oak promised. The Professor sent a stern glance at Lance, although Ash missed the Champion's reaction. He idly clipped the pokeballs onto his belt as Oak stood up out of his chair and placed a finger on the keyboard. "Goodbye, Ash. I'm sure you will do well."

Ash nodded back with a grateful smile before the call was cut. He stood up from the chair and looked at Lance, who stood with his arms crossed. "I'm ready."

"You are." Lance agreed. "Follow me. The roof should be empty now."

He looked at Lance oddly as the large man turned around, but acquiesced. Lance swiftly exited the room and headed up a staircase. Ash noted that the room they entered was the same as where he'd found Steven and Lance the day he liberated Knot Island.

"And here we are." Lance opened up a closet, which revealed a ladder. He climbed it with swiftness and agility someone of his size shouldn't possess. Ash was right behind him, although he was a bit slower than Lance. The young trainer just didn't have the power the Champion did.

The roof was rather plain, as he'd expected. It was flat with a few machines atop it, along with a few hatches. Lance kicked the entrance they'd taken shut, probably to prevent the warm air from diffusing into the cold Center.

From here he had a perfect view of Knot Island. This was the highest point of the main island, although Mt. Ember loomed magnificently in the background. He could see the dark forests and beaches from here, along with the town. It had grown even larger than he'd thought. At least a thousand people lived here. While still small, it wasn't at a dangerously low level.

But he couldn't tear his eyes off of Mt. Ember. It wasn't as massive as Cinnabar Island's volcano, but it was extremely impressive nonetheless. Mt. Ember was its own island, separated from Knot Island only by a mile or two of water. The red glow that adorned the top and the shower of embers that scattered out from it made him wonder if it was active again.

"Mt. Ember's why I chose this place." Lance said mysteriously. He swept his cape to his back and crossed his arms after he released the two tiny pokemon again. Sneasel had simply clung onto Ash as he climbed the ladder.

"Is it active? Knot Island's too close for the town to be safe." Ash commented worriedly. Sneasel hissed and clung on tighter at the sign of tension.

Lance shrugged. "It's not active in the conventional sense. Fire lurks within, but no one's in danger unless they try and go inside…in which case it's probably for the best. Most people aren't stupid enough to try and go into the volcano."

His eyes narrowed. Conventional sense? Nevertheless, he waited for Lance to elaborate. There was still a bit of fatigue left in his system and he wasn't quite up to asking questions.

"I have a lot to tell you." Lance said ominously. In the dim red light of Mt. Ember's flames he looked dangerous and mysterious, not at all like the proud Champion Ash knew. "Team Rocket is broken. At least in Indigo. There are splinter groups in other regions, but we hope that their Leagues will apprehend them soon enough. We found a treasure trove of data in the Rocket bunker, although a good bit of it is corrupted."

Ash patiently waited for Lance to continue. He'd known about the other Rocket branches from Steven, although he remembered that the former Champion had shut it down. It wasn't surprising that Team Rocket had extended into other regions. It was amongst the most powerful criminal organizations in the world.

"But we've found several caches about the Creature." Lance said, hatred in his voice. The Champion reflexively grasped onto the arm that had been mangled thanks to its actions. "Team Rocket created an abomination. They took the DNA of Mew and twisted it into their own super weapon."

He recoiled, both in disgust at Team Rocket's actions in defiling the Legendary and at the sheer vitriol in Lance's voice. Ash couldn't believe just how far Team Rocket had sunk, or the horrible brilliance that had birthed the idea in the first place.

According to ancient legends, Mew was the guardian of the Kanto region. It kept the balance and healed the hatred in men's hearts, calmed armies that screamed for blood with a thought. While most believed they were just legends, the Legendary kept its symbolic value.

For Team Rocket to have twisted and corrupted the DNA of the peace bringer into a weapon of war was simply sickening. It certainly explained the power the Creature displayed. Mew was said to be amongst the most powerful pokemon in the world.

"They called it Mewtwo." Lance continued with disgust. "Our Porygon are still working to recover more information. There's no doubt that Mewtwo was the one that destroyed their base. Ghosts that investigated had their physical forms incinerated from the aftereffects and even dark-types were in pain."

"Are you looking for it?" Ash eyed Lance speculatively. Perhaps it would be weakened by whatever Team Rocket did to anger it. The armor would probably slow it down if it wasn't maintained.

Lance nodded curtly. "Agatha. She's the only one of the Elite Four that could hope to handle it. Karen's with her."

Ash blushed almost imperceptibly at the mention of Karen. "What will you do if Agatha finds it? It was too powerful for an army last time."

"Find a way to track it." Lance replied immediately. His angular face drifted into a scowl. "It's too dangerous to leave alone. I doubt Mewtwo was programmed to be caring in the first place. Whatever time it spent with Team Rocket put it beyond redemption. I want to know where it is. If I can't kill it, I can prepare for it."

Although disturbed at the prospect of killing, Ash couldn't help but agree. Rushing water and the destruction of an army flashed before his eyes. If the Creature could do that, it could do anything. Something that powerful and dangerous had to be destroyed. They couldn't contain it.

"Did you ever find Giovanni, or was he killed in the blast?" Ash suddenly said. He could see the dark man's face now, the shadowy gleam in the man's eyes evident to him now. Giovanni was a monster.

"We recovered him." Lance said enigmatically. "I'm sorry, but I promised to keep that confidential. Giovanni has been dealt with."

Ash frowned, but signified his understanding. "I wouldn't ask you to break a promise."

"Good." Lance smiled. It took the harsh edge from his expression. "I can appreciate that. But I think I should tell you what we'll be doing for the month."

He crossed his arms and cocked his head at the Champion expectantly. Ash had been curious about the methods Lance would use to train him. The training methods of the Elite Four were generally secret, although Ash expected that they could be brutal. At their level of power and experience it had to be. Nothing else would let their pokemon improve further.

"I'm putting a year of training into one month. It will be difficult, and you and your pokemon will be pushed to your limits. You're too young to undergo the Elite Four physical conditioning, but I will push you just as hard as I push your team." Lance warned. Ash nodded, glad to accept the challenge.

The Champion suddenly recalled the small pokemon that waited attentively by his feet and released two Dragonite. Ash recognized the first as Lance's primary Dragonite. He smiled as the great dragon let out a long, keening cry and patted Lance on the shoulder.

He didn't recognize the other. It was large, but slimmer than the first. The dragon-type's scales held a tiny tint of blue and seemed thinner and more fragile than the other Dragonite. Ash didn't think that it was Lance's second Dragonite, either. From the brief glimpse he'd seen of it, the second was almost as bulky as the primary Dragonite.

"Don't you recognize Saph?" Lance commented as he affectionately patted Dragonite's massive arm. Saph called out happily and snorted at Lance before she waved at Ash. He returned it and stared at Saph with wide eyes. As a Dragonair she was obviously powerful. As Dragonite, he had no doubt that she could easily defeat him easily. "She evolved last week. I'm hoping to get her acclimated to her new form. Dov has been training her, but she's still a bit clumsy."

"Dov?" Ash remarked as Saph gave Lance an offended growl. The Champion rolled his eyes and waved Saph's annoyance away before he answered.

"My second Dragonite." Lance explained. "He's helping Saph learn to fly. Some of it's instinctual, but the change from manipulation of air and draconic energy to actual wings is a hard one."

Saph snorted in agreement and awkwardly unfurled her wings. Lance glanced at her. "Get on. We're flying to the camp. I have everything arranged. I'll give you the rest of the information when we get there."

Ash nodded and recalled Sneasel, who had dived into his pack when Lance released the twin Dragonite. He managed to see Sneasel's bright eyes narrowed suspiciously at the great dragons before he was engulfed by scarlet energy.

"Hold on tight!" Lance warned as he casually leapt up onto Dragonite's back. "The flight is short."

Saph considerately leaned down for Ash. The trainer felt a moment of awe at actually riding one of the Champion's most powerful pokemon. He clung on tightly to Saph's scales, although he made sure to avoid the smooth and sharp edges.

When he was secure, Saph took off to follow Lance. Wind whistled past them as they suddenly vanished into the dark night, and Ash had to lower his head and remove his cap to keep it from flying away. He tried to look up, but even with Saph's air manipulation the travel was too rough for him to weather the powerful winds.

He squeezed his eyes shut in an effort to keep them from drying out and dearly wished that he had taken Plume. Saph was probably faster, at least at going short distances, but Plume was much better at keeping the ride comfortable. The convenient bubble of air she could produce was much more effective than whatever Saph was doing.

Thankfully, it was over almost as soon as it began. They couldn't have spent more than a minute in the air. Saph was careful with her landing. Ash looked up as she slowly descended to the earth and realized that they were camped right on the slope of Mt. Ember. The red and orange glow of the mountaintop caused the air to be cast with an eerie glow.

Saph landed on all fours, although it looked to be uncomfortable for her. Ash thanked the dragonite and leapt off of her onto shaky legs. He reminded himself to get more experience flying. Plume would enjoy it and he didn't like feeling faintly nauseous whenever he got back to the ground. Practice would hopefully fix that.

"So you survived." Lance remarked as he walked up to Ash. Dragonite walked behind him, a vigilant guardian. The earth trembled lightly when it stepped. Ash didn't know how much it weighed, but he knew anything that large had to weigh at least a few hundred pounds. "That's a good sign."

Ash just rolled his eyes and focused on getting rid of the aftereffects of vertigo. The air was abnormally hot, although just enough to be uncomfortable. It was at least a few degrees warmer than the main island, although he could chalk that up to Mt. Ember's presence. "Where's the camp?"

"In that cave." Lance pointed to the aforementioned gap in the earth. It was easily large enough to fit an onix, although Ash couldn't make out the interior through the veil of darkness, which was unbroken by the red light of Mt. Ember. He assumed that it was quite large inside, however. "It leads into the tunnels inside Mt. Ember. You'll be training there a lot."

"What kind of training will I be doing?"

"Harsh." Lance grinned when he saw the annoyed glint in Ash's eyes. "It depends. Some days I'll just have you working on techniques and moves. I'm sure there are some that you can't teach your team, but I can help with that. Other days you'll be battling me."

Ash looked at Lance oddly. There was no way he could battle any of the Champion's pokemon. Any of the real team was too powerful for him to hope to take on and the pokemon Lance seemed to be training now would only be useful for Sneasel to battle.

"I'll go easy on you." Lance assured him. "But it's the best way for a pokemon to grow. If we had a proper amount of time to train, I'd go a little lighter on the battles. I'm having to put a year into a month, though. There's no time to coddle you."

"I understand." Ash said resolutely. He frowned, though. "What do you mean that it's the best way for them to grow? I know that battling a lot helps with getting practical experience, but isn't training just as important?"

Lance's voice took on a didactic tone. "It is training. Training isn't just repetition and honing techniques. That's a major part of it, true, but the real meat of it is in battle. It doesn't just give them experience: it makes them strong. Battle gives them the knowledge and strength to apply their skill."

He motioned for Ash to follow him. Dragonite and Saph crawled behind them on all fours, nostrils open as they entered the cavern, which smelled of steam and stone.

"Battle is how pokemon grow strong." Lance repeated as they entered the dark cave. It was hot and humid, although only to an uncomfortable level. The camp certainly wasn't dangerous. "You can train them in speed or endurance all you want, but to be a decent fighter they have to know the thrill of battle. Power is gained through practical experience."

Ash nodded and paid rapt attention to the Champion's words. He was learning from one of the most powerful trainers in the world. Every word Lance said needed to be committed to memory.

Lance suddenly changed topic. "Have you eaten?"

"Yes." Ash replied. He'd gotten a meal aboard the Seagallop Ferry. The League certainly didn't hold any expense on the food supplies. His rich meal had been a great change from the flavorless food he'd eaten during the mission.

"We can talk more tomorrow." Lance sighed. He snapped his fingers. Dragonite reared up and spat a stream of hot flame into the middle of the floor. Ash flinched when an immense pile of brush ignited furiously. The smoke gently wafted up into a large hole in the ceiling, through which red light shined through.

Ash spotted a mat at a comfortable distance away from the fire, which burned comfortably thanks to Dragonite's powerful flame. "Is that mine?"

Lance nodded. "Get some sleep. Tomorrow will be tough. I'm not holding back."

The trainer grinned. "I'm looking forward to it." He didn't see Lance's reaction before he walked over to the mat, which was of much higher quality than the cheap sleeping mat that he used. Perhaps he'd buy a new one when he returned to Kanto.

He took a moment to glance around the cave. It was incredibly large. The ceiling was probably high enough for a small flying-type to comfortably maneuver and it widened enough to easily hold all of Ash's team, although he wasn't sure if Lance's team of monstrous dragons would be able to fit as well.

Ash released his friends. He figured it would be best to get them introduced to each other. Oz only had the barest amount of contact with the rest of the team thanks to her own rage and the dangerous conditions. That situation needed to be rectified.

"The training begins tomorrow." Ash told Nidoking when his friend appeared beside him. Nidoking snorted and crushed his claws together in understanding. He sent a reverent glance at Dragonite, who had curled up in the general vicinity of Lance's sleeping mat. Saph's head rested atop the massive creature's back. "I'm going to introduce Sneasel and Oz to Bruiser and Seeker. I need you and Dazed to keep the peace. Restrain Sneasel if anything goes wrong."

Nidoking nodded and squared himself, ready to show off his physical power should the introductions not go as planned. Ash nodded approvingly and release Torrent, Dazed, and Tangrowth.

He greeted each of his friends as they materialized and informed them of their duties. Torrent was to try and keep the peace, an easy task for the incredibly powerful dragon-type. All of the team respected him. Dazed would instantly Disable any of the troublemakers, although Tangrowth was tasked with restraining Sneasel should a scuffle occur.

Ash suspected that it would be an unnecessary measure. Dazed would be more than happy to knock Sneasel out with Focus Blast should he cause an issue. It was a good thing Tangrowth was faster.

The trainer opted against releasing Plume or Infernus. Plume would be useless in such tight quarters and was more likely than most to get injured in such a physical battle. Bringing Infernus out in an enclosed space was just a bad idea.

Next, he released Sneasel and Oz. Sneasel hissed happily and rushed up to his ordinary perch on Ash's back. Oz whirred at Ash in a friendly manner, which brought a smile from Ash. Nidoking tensed up and directed a hateful look at Oz, who didn't bother acknowledging it. "Hey, Oz. How are you doing?"

She shrugged and caused electricity to crackle over her fur. Ash was glad that he still had his cap on. If he didn't his hair would be standing straight up right now. At least his hat covered it. It wasn't as though he could simply smooth it with a burst of psychic energy like Dazed could.

"That's good." Ash smiled. His face twisted into a more serious expression. He glanced back at Sneasel. "I'm about to introduce the both of you to the rest of the team. Sneasel, you've already met Bruiser."

Sneasel nodded, a hint of dislike in his eyes. Although he didn't know Bruiser, Ash knew that Sneasel tended to dislike fighting-types. While he was more than a match for fighting-types on his level thanks to his incredible speed and agility he was bitter toward anything with an advantage over him.

Dark-types such as Sneasel were deadly in close quarters, in no small part because of their ruthless mindset and wily cunning, but fighting-types were more than their match. Fighting-types tended to be amazingly strong and durable enough to take the quick attacks of dark-types, plus they had reflexes to match.

It didn't hurt that dark-types tended to be quite fragile, which was a negative side effect of having evolved to ambush and work in the shadows, oftentimes with groups. One good hit could easily defeat them if it was sufficiently powerful. Dark-types just weren't meant to fight fair.

At least Sneasel didn't have to worry about the normal weakness of ice-types to fighting-types. That weakness mostly applied to ice-types whose physiology incorporated ice or ice-like material. Sneasel simply had an elemental affinity for it. His body was flesh and blood, not brittle ice that could be easily smashed and shattered.

"Be nice." Ash reprimanded. He turned to Oz. "Their names are Bruiser and Seeker. Seeker can be a little timid at first, but I'm sure she'll open up to you."

Oz whirred and put her large fists behind her back. Ash remembered from the electabuzz entry in the pokedex that it was a sign of submission, or at least agreement. He smiled. "Thanks."

He sent Sneasel, who adopted a look of feigned innocence, another stern glance before he released Bruiser and Seeker. The two blinked in surprise as they were released before they focused in on Ash.

Bruiser pounded his muscular chest, which had grown even larger thanks to the training Bruno had taught him, and had a massive grin split his reptilian face. He stepped forward to pat Ash on the shoulder in an expression of glee, but Seeker was faster.

The zubat, who hadn't seen Ash in months outside of his calls, chattered happily as she latched onto his chest and buried her head into his warmth. Ash laughed and lightly stroked her fuzzy ears as she tried to wriggle in closer.

"I missed you too." He said softly. Ash looked up and grinned ecstatically at Bruiser. "It's good to see you, Bruiser! I'm sorry I haven't called you very much. We were in a bad situation for the last few weeks."

Bruiser shook his apologies off and firmly clasped Ash's forearm. Ash squeezed back against Bruiser's tight, rough skin as hard as he could. The fighting-type smiled and dipped his head before he stepped back, a ceremony that Ash repeated.

"We're going to be training for the next month." Ash explained as he scratched around Seeker's tightly folded wings. The zubat squeaked every now and then. "But I figured you two should meet your new teammates before we start tomorrow."

Seeker squeaked shyly at the thought of meeting more pokemon, but let out a contented whine when Ash comfortingly stroked her ears again. Bruiser perked up and focused in on the obvious addition of Oz. He bowed his head to the electric-type and reached out to clasp her bulky forearm.

Oz acquiesced, and actually seemed impressed with Bruiser as he steadfastly ignored the strong electric current that ran through her thick coat of striped fur. Ash smiled. It looked like they would get along, at least.

He glanced backward at Sneasel, only to hear a long, deep hiss. Ash sighed and began to reprimand Sneasel, although he identified the source of the protective noise beforehand. Seeker had tried to climb onto his back like she usually did, only to find it occupied. She scurried back onto his chest and clung on tightly.

"Sneasel…" Ash warned as Bruiser started forward with furious eyes. He didn't need Sneasel getting the snot beaten out of him by Seeker's protector. Bruiser backed off when Ash raised a placating hand, although he bared his small fangs and cracked his knuckles.

Nidoking let out a deep growl that made the ground tremble. All of the pokemon backed away at the sound, except for Torrent. It had no effect on Ash. While the growl of a Nidoking was something ingrained in every human's subconscious to fear, he'd gotten used to it by now. Besides, his friend's calls were more comforting than anything. Torrent was a monarch in his own right and cared little for the expression of displeasure.

Sneasel hissed again and dived deeper into Ash's pack, although he barely fit at this point. He'd grown a lot over the past few weeks. Ash sighed and pulled him out, although Sneasel growled in displeasure. The dark-type respected and looked up to Ash too much to try and lash out physically, however.

"Be nice." Ash commanded. Seeker fluttered away onto Bruiser's shoulder as he held a sullen Sneasel out in front of them by the scruff of his neck. "This is Sneasel. He's not so bad once you get to know him."

The dark-type growled and did his best to refute that statement, but Ash's grip and command was enough to ensure his obedience. Ash reflected that it was a good thing Sneasel was so light. He'd never be able to carry his friend like this if he was fully grown. Even now he could feel the strain in his arm.

Ash gently lowered Sneasel to the ground. Sneasel growled at Bruiser and Seeker, but didn't try anything as Bruiser knelt and looked down at the dark-type. Bruiser stared at him impassively with his dark, beady eyes but didn't do anything. Seeker chattered and tried to get an image of him via echolocation.

He glanced at his friends. Nidoking was beside Ash, his prominent fangs bared and his eyes narrowed dangerously. The powerful poison-type didn't look as though he would do anything, but was simply trying to intimidate Sneasel. Dazed simply stared with her normal bored expression. Her pendulum was held taught, although Ash's keen, practiced eyes could pick out slight vibrations coursing through it.

The trainer let the tense appraisal of Sneasel go on for a while and smiled in satisfaction when some of Sneasel's hostility evaporated. He would have to keep an eye on those three, however.

Sneasel didn't like Bruiser due to his unfamiliarity with the fighting-type and his natural disdain of anything that had an inherent advantage over him. Ash hoped that the dislike would fade away over time. It hadn't taken long for Sneasel to warm up to Infernus, although that might have to do with Infernus showing off how strong he really was whenever the chance occurred.

Bruiser didn't like Sneasel, obviously. As with most fighting-types, Bruiser had a code of honor. Most pokemon naturally distrusted dark-types, and fighting-types tended to be more wary of them than most. Dark-types rarely had any concept of honor or fairness. Only strength mattered. While a philosophy like that was understandable to Bruiser, it was detestable at the same time.

Ash was more worried about Sneasel and Seeker's relationship. Bruiser could protect himself and was clearly strong. Sneasel would do his best to avoid directly antagonizing the fighting-type, if only out of self-preservation.

But Seeker was timid and vulnerable. He would never call her weak after the abuse she had weathered underneath Team Rocket and the bravery she displayed in saving him from Golduck's spite, but she wasn't a fighter. Sneasel was attracted to weakness. It was encoded into his instincts to harass and attack her.

Perhaps that would fade over time, he mused. Seeker would be spending the month with them. While he doubted she was anywhere near ready to begin serious training, perhaps she'd come out of her shell a bit thanks to all of the contact.

Regardless, he'd have to keep an eye on the both of them. He smiled when Sneasel slunk away to Tangrowth's side and sent baneful glares at Bruiser and Seeker. While it could have gone better, he was satisfied with the events. A fight had been avoided, and some degree of acceptance had been earned.

"Let's go to bed." Ash spoke up. Most of his friends nodded their agreement, although Ash knew that some might stay up for a while. Bruiser and Nidoking certainly would, just to make sure the situation was stable and their charges were safe. Dazed couldn't go to sleep.

He sat down and took his cap and jacket off and set them to the side. His friends scattered throughout the cave, although they mostly remained close by.

Tangrowth and Sneasel bunkered down in a small corner. Sneasel was still clearly awake, affectionately wrapped up in Tangrowth's thick vines. Although he seemed annoyed by Tangrowth's physical contact, he had grown used to it. Ash smiled at him, which took some of the anger out of the dark-type's expression.

Nidoking curled up right beside him in a protective manner, of course. Ash stared into his friend's narrow black eyes as he laid down and pulled a thin blanket out from his pack. While it was hardly needed in the cavern, which was heated from the geothermic energy concentrated around Mt. Ember, a blanket was always comforting. It was odd, but it always felt nice for some reason, even in a hot environment.

He really needed to get a new one. It was worn and had a few small holes thanks to the long months of travelling. Ash had simply not cared too much before now. It got the job done and Infernus provided all of the heat he needed.

Torrent slept with his great head angled downward. He had positioned himself next to Dazed, whose eyes flashed with eerie blue light every now and then. It didn't bother Ash, who had long become accustomed to it.

Bruiser sat with his back on the stone wall a few feet away from Ash. Seeker clutched to his shoulder and hid away from the meager light cast by the bonfire, which had slowly died down. Ash smiled at the duo for the briefest instant.

Ash couldn't see Oz from his position, but from the quiet hum of electricity he judged that she had curled up not too far from Tangrowth.

He closed his eyes and tried to angle it so that Nidoking blocked the majority of the light and heat from the flames. Mt. Ember was hot enough without a massive fire thrown into the mix, even if it would be nothing but ashes and charred wood soon.

It didn't take long for him to be dragged into a dreamless abyss.

XX

Ash snapped up on his mat as an awful, earsplitting screech wracked the air. He crushed his hands over his ears and squeezed his eyes shut. The noise was literally painful. Judging from the abrupt movements he had managed to catch before he closed his eyes, his pokemon had a similar reaction.

It mercifully ended after a few seconds. He glared up at the massive form of Lance, who stood by the ashes of the bonfire with a sadistic grin on his face. A strange, insect-like pokemon with two angular wings and bulging green eyes sat beside him.

"Wake up, trainee!" Lance sang mockingly. His eyes were dark with horrible amusement. "Get going! You have five minutes to meet me outside." The Champion's grin bared his teeth as he added dangerously, "Don't be late."

Ash blinked in astonishment for a few seconds, during which Lance confidently strode outside into the bright sun. He shook his head before Lance's words set in.

"Get up!" He commanded as adrenaline shot through his system like lightning. It was rather similar to when his mother had gotten him up late for school.

Thankfully, his friends followed suit. They were struck by Lance's command just as much as Ash was, and were up in seconds. Ash quickly put on his cap and slipped into his jacket, grateful that he'd been too worn out to think about fully undressing last night.

All Ash bothered to spend time on was brushing his teeth. He'd prefer not to spend the day with the sickly sour taste in his mouth. It had been a mistake not to do so last night before he'd gone to sleep.

He and his friends were outside in three minutes, if he had to guess. Lance stood outside in the hot, humid air perfectly calm. His pokemon were arrayed out behind him. Ash counted three dragonite, Aerodactyl, a monstrous Gyarados that loomed from the ocean, a Kingdra that made Torrent look like a horsea, the gigantic Charizard whose tail flame burned a furious blue with a core of white, the strange insect, and the two small pokemon that had followed him around last night.

"Welcome to your first day of training!" Lance boomed. He gestured grandiosely to the army behind him. "These are my friends and partners."

He pointed to the group of dragonite. "You know Dragonite, Dov, and Saph." Ash nodded and waved back when the massive dragons sang their greeting. His pokemon followed suit in a cacophony of roars, hums, hisses, and grunts.

"Aerodactyl." Lance pointed at the stone behemoth, which stood at an awe-inspiring seven feet tall and probably had a wing span of about twenty feet. Ash hoped he never had to fight one in a real battle. They were astoundingly rare thanks to the expense of artificially giving them an immune system and engineering their DNA to be able to survive in this new world, but in the higher levels of training it was always a threat.

The stone beast leered at him and snapped its massive jaws together. Ash felt an urge to shrink back in the face of this ancient predator, but fought it off. He'd stared down the Cre—Mewtwo. Aerodactyl wouldn't intimidate him.

Lance smiled at him approvingly. "Magnus." He pointed to the Charizard, which snarled and spat a plume of deep blue flame into the air. It thrashed its tail furiously and seemed to try to one up Aerodactyl, who just growled at Charizard in annoyance.

The Champion rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes. You're very scary, Magnus. Anyways, there's Lev."

Gyarados roared and flailed its tail, but didn't seem aggressive. Its eyes seemed more playful than anything, although Ash had no doubt that it could fly into a destructive rage at a moment's notice. Judging from the sheer bulk it displayed, Ash assumed it would be around fifty feet in length if it was proportionate to its width. A true giant of its species.

"This is Vibrava, and those two are Bagon and Gible." Lance said with a soft smile. Ash nodded. At least he had a name for the odd insect now. He was confused as to why the Dragon Master had a bug-type on his team, though. The other two made sense. They looked like dragons.

"Where are they from?" Ash asked. If Lance used them, they must evolve into extremely powerful pokemon. Perhaps he could find one in his travels.

"Bagon's from Hoenn. He evolves into Salamence." Lance said with a dreamy look in his eyes. Ash held back an amused snort. He thought he recognized the name from a conversation with Steven. "Gible's from Sinnoh. Bagon was a gift from my old master in Hoenn, Drake, and Gible was a gift from Cynthia. She'll evolve into Garchomp"

Ash's eyes widened as he looked at the tiny pokemon, their chests puffed out in pride. He didn't recognize Drake's name, but he certainly recognized the name of Cynthia. She was the Champion of Sinnoh and recognized as one of the most powerful trainers in the world, on par with Lance or Steven. Not many could challenge Lance's team of dragons and draconic pokemon, but she was rumored to be one of them.

"There's Mael." Lance directed at the Kingdra. The old, battle-scarred creature looked down at Ash appraisingly, far more interested in him than any of the others Ash had been introduced to. It seemed to reach a decision after a while and nodded at him, which he hesitantly returned. "Now, introduce us to your team. They need to know their teachers."

"Well, that's Nidoking." Ash pointed out slowly. He quickly released Plume and Infernus, who blinked in surprise when they saw the immensely powerful group of pokemon before them. Plume looked back at Ash like he was insane, but Infernus had a maniacal glint in his eyes as flame wreathed around him. "No! We aren't fighting."

Infernus looked disappointed, but Plume looked at him thankfully before she awkwardly hopped over to his side, right next to Nidoking. The fire-type slunk over to Tangrowth and moved in close so as to make the grass-type feel uncomfortable. Tangrowth gurgled and shied away, but Sneasel snickered and shot a gust of wind at Infernus, which the fire-type didn't even feel.

"There's Plume, then Torrent, she's Dazed, Infernus, Bruiser, Seeker, Tangrowth, Sneasel, and Oz." Ash ran off quickly as he pointed his friends out. He felt a little awkward underneath Lance's cool gaze.

"Very well." Lance smiled dangerously. He snapped his fingers. All of his pokemon except for Dragonite removed themselves from the area and formed a semicircle. "Ash, your team will battle Dragonite. If you feel any aren't ready, send them over to the rest of my team now."

Ash blanched, but nodded. He had confidence in his team and knew they were very powerful, but he knew they weren't even close to being ready for this. But he had to try. "Seeker, Sneasel, go on."

Sneasel hissed in a mixture of disappointment and annoyance, but followed his orders. Bruiser carried Seeker over to Saph, who gently took the zubat from the fighting-type and placed her small fuzzy form underneath one of her wings. Ash wondered how Bruiser knew to take Seeker to Saph, but assumed that she simply seemed the friendliest.

The trainer frowned. While he didn't like splitting the team up, this was far too dangerous for an untrained pokemon to be in. Sneasel was making great progress, but he hadn't mastered Ice Beam or Blizzard. Until then he would only be a hindrance in a fight like this, unable to even threaten Dragonite. Seeker was simply too timid and untrained. Even if she was trained, the sunlight was painful to her.

"You have five minutes to prepare." Lance called out. "After that, Dragonite will attack."

Ash signified his understanding and called the team together. He had a bad feeling as they arrayed around him. Lance knew that they weren't ready for this. Why was he forcing a battle that was sure to end in Ash's loss. The Champion was firm in his belief that battling powerful opponents would make his team stronger, but Ash wasn't sure that it applied when the power gap was this drastic.

He didn't show his fear to his team. Instead he did his best to radiate confidence. "This'll be a hard fight, guys. Dragonite's by far the strongest opponent we've ever faced."

Apparently this didn't surprise any of his friends. Their expressions didn't change a bit. Ash sighed and hurriedly continued. "Nidoking, it's up to you to use Ice Beam. Try and hit the wings if it's slow enough. If it gets close, try and ram it with your horn. The scales are tough enough to keep it safe. Keep it off of Torrent."

"Plume, try and confuse it with Double Team." He continued. Both he and Plume knew that Dragonite would smack her right out of the sky without any trouble. She had to be a distraction. "If you think you can hit it with Whirlwind or Steel Wing, go for it. Try and stay away from Dragonite, though."

"Torrent, you're the main player in this fight." Ash said seriously. Torrent looked at him calmly, although a fierce passion for battle was aroused in the back of his scarlet eyes. "Hit it with Ice Beam the moment the battle starts. If you can't, shoot a Blizzard at it. Don't use Ice Storm unless I've returned all of the others. Use Dragon Pulse if it gets close."

"Dazed, try to Disable it." Ash told her. Dazed nodded and her pendulum slowly vibrated as it glowed with blue energy. He knew that Dragonite would probably break free of Disable in an instant, but perhaps it would slow it down. "Use Psychic if it gets close to the others. Keep your barriers up."

Ash turned to Infernus, whose body language suggested that he was simply delighted by the prospects of this fight. It was the next best thing to battling a Legendary. "Your fire attacks probably won't do much, but keep a steady flame on it. Try and keep it off of the others. If it gets close, use Brick Break and Teleport. Don't let it hit you."

"Grapple it." Ash told Bruiser bluntly. "Grab on and wrestle it to the ground if you can. Keep away from its elemental attacks. Dazed will protect you, but I'm not sure how well her shields will fare. Try to keep it out of the air."

"Wrap it." He commanded Tangrowth, who happily gurgled. "Hit it with Solarbeam the moment the battle begins. Aim for the joints that connect the wings with your vines. They're one of its only weak points. If you get a chance, hit it with Ancient Power."

Oz seemed just as excited as Infernus, although there was palpable tension in her body. Ash was unsure of how to command her. He'd memorized her moves, but he really didn't have any experience with her. "Start off with Thunder Wave, and hammer it with Thunderbolts. Try and line them up with Nidoking and Torrent's attacks."

The electric-type nodded seriously and began to windmill her arms. Electricity arced around her and raised the hairs on Ash's body.

"Make sure to spread out." He ordered. "Don't make yourselves an easy target. It'll take advantage of any openings."

As he finished speaking, Lance shouted out to him. "Get over here! It's not safe."

Ash nodded and jogged over to Lance. Dragonite snorted at him good-naturedly as he ran by, and Ash took a last, lingering look at his friends. He trusted that they would put up a fight. They were strong.

"Begin." Lance ordered.

Before Ash could blink, Dragonite erupted into the air. It easily sped away from the barrage of attacks his friends shot toward it as they slowly reacted to its insane speeds and casually beat its massive wings toward the group. Ash gaped as a gale powerful enough to tear a tree from its roots slammed into his friends and sent them all over the place.

Torrent managed to stay in the same position thanks to his levitation and fired off a second Ice Beam. Dragonite vanished for a moment only to appear right in front of Torrent. Ash watched with wide eyes as Torrent tried to blast Dragonite with a Dragon Pulse in an attempt to at least do some damage, but Dragonite's claws glowed bright green with draconic energy before it slashed at Torrent.

Ash winced as Torrent was slammed into the ground with incredible force. He saw Infernus fire a stream of flame at Dragonite, but it instantly vanished back into the sky. The trainer couldn't believe how fast it was. It was probably using a technique like Agility, but it was still awe-inspiring.

He grinned when he saw Plume slam into its back with Steel Wing, however. Ash looked on with horror as Dragonite was only knocked away a few feet before it retaliated with another gale of wind. Plume was swept away by the Hurricane technique and hurled toward the ground, although Ash hurriedly returned her before she made contact with the hard earth.

Dragonite held itself aloft and watched as Ash's friends scrambled to recover. Ash noted that it seemed particularly focused on Nidoking and Dazed. He could understand why it regarded Nidoking as a potential threat considering his Ice Beam, but he wasn't so sure about Dazed.

Ash found his answer when Dazed's eyes flashed and Dragonite became entombed in a prison of bright energy. It only lasted for a second considering that Dragonite casually broke out of it with a single flex, but it gave the others a chance to retaliate against the seemingly invincible dragon.

The dragon-type flinched backward as Nidoking's Ice Beam, Oz's Thunderbolt, and Tangrowth's Solarbeam slammed into it, but weathered the assault with ease. Its scales were just too tough and resistant to energy for Solarbeam or Thunderbolt to have any real effect with the amount of power put into them. Ash had no idea how it survived the Ice Beam so easily, however. Perhaps Lance had trained it to be resistant to its major weakness.

It wouldn't be surprising. While it was difficult and time consuming, it was possible. Dragon-types' general physiology made it impossible for them to completely discount the threat that ice-type attacks posed, but they could grow to tolerate it.

Ice-type attacks were generally effective against dragons for the same reason that they were effective against onix and its ilk: the sudden shock to their system was devastating. Dragon-types were coldblooded for the most part and being at such a low temperature was dangerous. Some had evolved to resist cold as a necessity, such as Kingdra in the abyss of the ocean, but for the most part they simply couldn't suffer ice-type attacks.

All of his thoughts vanished when he saw Dragonite flap its mighty wings once before it blasted up into the sky, far beyond the reach of any attack. Ash had a gnawing feeling in his stomach as his pokemon tried to prepare themselves against the inevitable assault.

Ash glanced up at the Champion and noted that Lance's lips twitched. He furrowed his brow and looked to the sky, but shouted out a warning when he saw a gold and tan blur hurtle down toward the earth.

He staggered backward as the blur slammed into the ground with a thunderous boom. Immense force ripped through the earth, and a massive cloud of dust was kicked up from the impact. Ash watched worriedly as he saw Dragonite launch itself into the air again, apparently unharmed from the incredibly powerful attack.

"Earth Wrecker." Lance said from beside him. His eyes were focused on the remnants of the battlefield. "A combination of flight, Extreme Speed and Tailwind to build up the velocity, Earthquake to impart the required force, and a Twister wrapped around the user to prevent extreme damage and/or death."

Ash's eyes widened at the sheer number of moves incorporated into the devastating technique. That was ridiculous. Dragonite must have practiced for weeks to perfect it. It took an iron will and discipline rarely found to control so many techniques at once.

"Good job, Dragonite." Lance shouted to the heavens. A long, low call was his response. He turned to Ash. "Recall your pokemon. I'll revive them."

"Why did we do that?" Ash questioned as he recalled his defeated friends. He scowled. His friends were strong, but they were helpless in the face of Dragonite. The trainer didn't like feeling helpless. It was what he had trained to avoid after the first time he'd encountered Pierce.

Lance looked down at him with a strange mix of emotions. "You needed to know what utter defeat felt like. You're like me, Ash. In my first year, I only had three legitimate defeats, each against vastly more experienced foes. I didn't even know what it felt like or how to handle an opponent stronger than I was."

Ash nodded, although he still had an ugly scowl on his face. He didn't like losing.

"Exactly." Lance remarked after seeing the expression on Ash's face. "You knew you would lose. You have a good team, but Dragonite is too far beyond you."

He knelt and met Ash's eyes with his own dark ones. "That's what I'm training you for. There won't be many opponents stronger than you by the time I'm done training you, but if you ever find one you'll know what to do. You froze up during our battle. That'll never happen again."

Ash nodded again and returned Lance's serious look. "Is this all for today?"

"No." Lance laughed and threw his head back. "That was just a lesson. There will be stronger foes out there. You know it logically, but I know that I could never really accept it. Take that knowledge and turn it into a drive to become stronger, until you're the best."

Lance turned away and looked at his team. "There are revives by my sleeping mat. Get your team up and return. Your real training will begin then."

Ash smiled lightly and ran off to the camp. Sneasel joined him, although Ash made sure to return Seeker. He choked a bit on the great cloud of dust as he ran through it, but he was more distracted by the sheer amount of damage that Dragonite's attack had done. There was an impact crater at least three feet deep and ten feet in every direction where Dragonite had landed, and there were massive cracks and ruptures in the earth as far as he could see.

He easily maneuvered around them and went into the camp with a determined expression. Ash understood Lance's lesson, but it had given him a burning drive to become stronger. His desire for strength was reignited, the candle transmuted into an inferno.

Lance had shown him what a true trainer was capable of. Ash only had a month, but he would learn everything he could from the Champion and reach the top of the world just as Lance had done. By the time the Conference came around, Ash would be ready for it.

XX

"What moves are you currently teaching your team?" Lance inquired as Ash returned. Most of the Champion's team had scattered, although each of the Dragonite, Magnus, and Mael remained nearby. The others had probably flown off to train.

"I'm going to teach Nidoking Earth Power and Mega Horn, Dazed Magic Coat and Signal Beam, Infernus Heat Wave and Thunderpunch, Bruiser Superpower, and Oz everything I can." Ash finished with a frown. "I need to work with her the most."

Lance nodded understandingly. "Very well. I noticed that you left a few of your teammates out."

"Well," Ash began, "some of my friends don't have anything useful to learn. Tangrowth has just about everything he needs, and I need the most help with Plume and Torrent. Plume has almost mastered Hurricane, but she keeps getting stuck on keeping its range and power. Torrent needs help with Draco Meteor. I've tried to help him, but nothing seems to work. He can only start the attack."

"You tried to teach a pokemon Draco Meteor? And you actually made some progress?" Lance asked with a raised eyebrow. "Impressive. I can help you with both of those moves. Draco Meteor will be simplest. Mael should be able to guide him through the motions without too much trouble."

"And Hurricane?" Ash prompted. He was glad that Lance was willing to help him. It was an extraordinarily rare and powerful move, crafted by the ancient Wataru Dragon Clan of Blackthorn City. Lance had probably been taught it the moment he'd proven himself to his clan.

Lance grinned and motioned to Dragonite, who casually landed next to him with astounding grace. Something that large shouldn't have been able to move so easily. It was a statement that applied to the Champion as well.

"I might be a Master of the dragon-type, but I have a fair amount of experience with flying-types as well." Dragonite snorted and unfurled its massive wings to validate Lance's statement. "Dragonite can help Plume master it in no time. He's already taught Dov and Saph."

Ash nodded and smiled. He went ahead and released his friends, who arrayed around him. They glared distrustfully at Dragonite, save for Tangrowth. The grass-type curiously extended vines to reach over the dragon, who acquiesced to the scan with curious eyes.

"I can't help you so much with your other pokemon." Lance admitted. "Not their techniques, anyway. I can help you train them until they're unstoppable forces of destruction, but I'm not experienced with most of your pokemon."

"That's fine." Ash replied. It was what he'd expected. Lance might know an incredible amount of information about almost every pokemon, but his knowledge of training was specialized for his dragons. It was an incredible strength, but a weakness at the same time.

Lance nodded to Mael, who levitated forward with an air of regality that made Torrent bow his head in submission. The kingdra simply exuded power and experience, shown clearly in the scars that covered its form. Ash didn't want to know what Lance had fought that actually had enough strength to penetrate the thick scales.

"Mael, Dragonite, you're staying with me." Lance commanded. "The rest of you, go spar. We need to get back into shape."

The small army signified their understanding before they rushed off. Dov, who Ash noted seemed to be even bulkier than Dragonite, albeit shorter and obviously younger, launched into the air with incredible precision, followed by a slightly unsteady Saph. Ash watched with wide eyes as Dov casually fired an Ice Beam at Saph, who barely flashed out of the way before the immensely powerful attacked shot through the area she stood.

As the Ice Beam froze its way through the air, frost converged around it. When it finally slammed into the warm water, it froze an area of thirty square feet. Ash couldn't help but blink at the sheer power behind the attack. It was no wonder that Dragonite had easily shrugged his team's attacks off.

"Dragonite, teach her Hurricane." Lance said. Dragonite slapped the Champion on the back before it launched high into the air with a single beat of its powerful wings. Ash stumbled backward, but Lance, with his greater bulk, managed to keep his footing. Nidoking propped Ash up as Plume followed Dragonite's lead.

"Mael, show Torrent your Draco Meteor."

Ash watched intently as Mael regally levitated to the beachside, where waves chilled by the large block of ice gently lapped at the sand. It raised its massive head high into the air. In an instant a small ball of intense orange energy with a core of white formed at the tip of its elegant snout and shot into the air.

He pulled his cap over his eyes as the orb hovered in the air for the briefest of seconds before it exploded. Huge comets of the energy that trailed fire and light rained down upon the water. Great columns of water exploded upward as the comets slammed into the ocean and exploded, a low roar in the ocean as it filled in the vacuum with great currents of clear water.

The iceberg created by Dov's errant Ice Beam was obliterated by a single of the comets. It shattered and the ring of ice that hadn't been melted by the initial impact split into great shards of pure white. In moments the ice submerged further, visible only because of the water's clarity. Ash knew that it would melt in a few minutes.

But he was focused more upon the sheer power Draco Meteor held. Mael might be an experienced practitioner of the technique, but he knew that Torrent could achieve the same level if given time. It would be an actual weapon against Dragonite and perfect for dealing with any opponent.

"He can do better." Lance spoke up, the silence that pervaded the air finally broken. "Mael just didn't want to cause too much damage. He is a match for Dov."

Ash nodded. It was hard to believe that Mael was holding back. That was one of the greatest displays of power he had ever seen, outside of the Creatu – Mewtwo's rampages and the Birds' elemental mastery.

"Torrent, try it." Ash commanded. It was always best for pokemon to learn from observation. The process gave them an idea of how to manipulate the energy that pounded beneath their skin. Even if Torrent couldn't perform it, he'd have made progress.

Torrent levitated next to the elder dragon and closed his vibrant scarlet eyes. Ash could feel the power normally restrained by his friend's iron will engulf the area as Torrent prepared the attack. His friend pointed his snout to the air in perfect imitation of Mael.

A sphere of energy formed at the tip of his snout, although Ash worried for a moment when it was green. He relaxed when it quickly shifted to the same familiar orange hue as Mael's, although the energy ball was much larger and obviously weaker.

He grinned when Torrent progressed to the next step of the technique and fired the energy ball high into the air. It left streaks of warm red orange in its wake until it finally reached its position. The orange ball seemed to hang in the air for a moment before it simply left Torrent's control and fell into the ocean.

Torrent seemed a bit annoyed at his failed attempt, but still eyed the destructive power he possessed with satisfaction. A huge geyser of water at least fifty feet high exploded upwards as the energy ball exploded within the depths of the ocean. There was a roar of rushing water as the vacuum was filled, and a loud spattering as the displaced water collapsed back into its source.

"A good attempt." Lance clapped. "But it obviously needs improvement. Mael, keep him going. I want it perfected within two days."

Mael nodded calmly and turned to Torrent. The Kingdra snorted something in a very dignified manner, to which Torrent dipped his head. Lance smiled and turned away before he pointed up to the sky. "It seems that Plume is making progress. You did a good job teaching her."

"Thanks." Ash said gruffly, not so used to people commenting on specific aspects of his training. "She did the work."

"Of course." Lance replied. He squinted. "She's very quick. Not the most durable pidgeot I've ever seen, nor the strongest, but she's a magnificent flier. Dragonite is having to try to keep up with her."

Ash grinned at the high praise for Plume. She deserved every bit of it and so much more.

"We'll have to work on that. You don't have any other combat fliers, do you?" Lance inclined his head toward Ash. The trainer shook his head, which brought a smile to Lance's face. "Very impressive. With actual competition she'll advance far. Pidgeot aren't quite as useful in the higher tiers of training, but a properly trained one is always a valuable asset. When they get going, they don't stop."

"I know." Ash laughed. "She hits hard with that speed. With Steel Wing she can take down a rhydon."

Lance grinned. "That's good to hear. They're popular at the Conference." He turned back to Torrent and Mael, both of whom were focused on maintaining a tiny, compressed sphere of orange energy. Ash assumed it was endurance training of a kind. "You've done well with Torrent. Given time he'll rival Mael, I'm sure. This training will give him a nice boost."

"Do you know how Draco Meteor works?" Lance questioned. At Ash's shake of the head, he continued. "It's similar to Dragon Pulse, at least in principle. Dragon Pulse tends to be a requisite move for a pokemon trying to learn the superior technique."

The Champion dipped further into his teaching persona. "Dragon Pulse is all about harnessing the energy that runs through a pokemon, focusing it, and firing it. It's raw energy. Draco Meteor is much more complicated. It involves much more energy, and controlling each individual comet as it separates from the primary sphere."

"To successfully perform Draco Meteor, one must create the same energy sphere of Dragon Pulse, but it must be amplified. It's a massive drain on the reserves, which is why pokemon that haven't been extensively trained in it tend to be much weaker for the rest of the battle." Lance explained. He emphasized his words with dramatic hand motions. "But if you go beyond so-called mastery of the technique and train until it's little more than any other powerful attack, it will be much more devastating and much less consuming."

"That is where I want Torrent at by the end of the month." Lance boomed, determination in his powerful voice. "He's strong, but not strong enough. The battles he will face against my team shall prepare him. While Draco Meteor can be made efficient, a pokemon must still possess overwhelming power to use it without being severely weakened."

Ash nodded as he paid rapt attention to the Champion's words. Lance believed that they could do it in time, and Ash would do everything he could to help Torrent reach that goal.

"For the rest of the day, I want you to hone your techniques with your other pokemon." Lance said. "We will have another battle tomorrow, against one of my other teammates. Prepare yourself. Come to me if you need my aid."

"What will you be doing?" Ash leaned forward curiously.

Lance smiled. "You aren't the only one that needs to train. This war with Team Rocket has gotten me out of practice. There's no time to train when I'm up to my ears in paperwork or leading raids against Team Rocket. Those useless grunts didn't even put up a challenge." The Champion growled, a hint of the man Team Rocket feared in his tone.

The tension eased from his face. "I apologize. I'm still a little stressed. Regardless, I'll be preparing as well. Saph and my new teammates need to be prepared for future conflict. They're still too inexperienced."

"I understand." Ash said firmly. "Guys, let's head out."

"There's an empty area not too far from here." Lance called out helpfully. "Head to the east. Come back when night falls. I have to explain some things to you."

With that they set off to find their training grounds. Ash silently wondered just what Lance wanted to talk to him about. Perhaps Lance would have talks with him like Bruno had. They had been quite informative and Bruno was a simple enough man that the words didn't go over his head. It would be nice to see the Champion's perspective.

XX

"Everyone, stay here." Ash said as they settled into the large, charred streak of land. He followed the trail of blackened earth and noted that it seemed as though a firestorm had incinerated its way through the island. That was certainly odd. No fire-type he could think of possessed that kind of power, but the burn seemed too controlled for it to have been a wild fire. "I'm equipping some of you with extra TMs. We need everything against Lance and this is the best time to learn."

He removed the TM case from his pack and selected the TMs that he'd gotten extended. Ash looked up to Nidoking. While he didn't want to distract from the attacks he would be teaching his first friend manually, Nidoking needed to learn this one.

Nidoking nodded and bowed his head as he was sucked into the pokeball. Ash, who was well practiced with teaching TMs by now, quickly inserted his pokeball into the TM case before he slid the needed TM into it as well.

The case glowed a dark, malevolent purple as the knowledge of Shadow Ball was transferred into Nidoking's brain. Nidoking already knew Shadow Claw, but he'd prefer that his friend have a way to counter psychics at a long distance.

When he released Nidoking, he quickly gave his friends the TMs he had selected to them.

Dazed received nothing. She had everything she needed to be a devastating threat on the battlefield. He just needed to improve her power and innovate some new strategies. Right now she was exceptional, but he wanted her capable of standing up to anything the Conference could throw at her.

Infernus learned Earthquake. Ash would teach him Focus Blast in the future, but right now he wanted to create a specific technique. While it wouldn't do well against Lance's dragons, it would be almost impossible for any landlocked pokemon to escape. Ash would work with him closely today, along with Oz.

Bruiser was given Focus Blast. From the looks of things he'd managed to handle his own training better than Ash could have, and there weren't any moves Ash could help him learn outside of Superpower. Besides, he needed something to hit foes from a distance. Brick Break would come later, along with Earthquake. Both would be excellent for defeating psychics and elemental pokemon.

Seeker didn't receive any TMs, of course. She was still terrified at the prospect of fighting, and Ash wanted to wait until she was mentally ready before he even thought of putting her into training. Her mind had been horribly scarred from Team Rocket's enslavement. While the League had rehabilitated her, Ash knew that the effects would never leave completely. All he could do was try and keep her happy and stable.

He taught Tangrowth Earthquake. It would be rather useful, especially in conjunction with Ancient Power. Fire-types wouldn't be such a devastating threat any more. Long range attacks were usually difficult against them, but Earthquake would knock them off their feet and destabilize their pyro sacs. Tangrowth could easily take advantage of their distraction.

While Sneasel was beginning to leave his puberty, Ash knew he wasn't ready for new moves yet. He was still too volatile. Sneasel needed to learn control first. That was what he would be working on with Nidoking while the others sparred or were personally overseen by Ash.

Ash decided to push it with Oz. He taught her two TMs instead of one, despite the potential danger. She needed some variety in her move set to guard against dangerous foes. He opted to even it out by teaching the electric-type Brick Break and Double Team. Double Team would help to keep her from taking hits, which was an imperative for Oz. She lacked the sheer fortitude Infernus possessed, although she was certainly tough.

"Tangrowth, I want you and Dazed to spar. Get used to Earthquake and Solar Beam. Dazed, focus on your shields. They need to be able to stand up against anything." Ash directed. His two friends nodded before Dazed teleported off to the distance. Tangrowth waddled after her, his red feet bright against the scarred land.

He thought for a moment. "Bruiser, go with them. Try and get used to Focus Blast. I know you aren't used to energy techniques."

Bruiser nodded and grinned. Seeker chattered after him from where she sat in Ash's pack, which was enough to protect her from the harsh sunlight of the tropics. The machoke gingerly stepped over and patted Seeker's fragile head before he headed off after Tangrowth. Ash smiled at the interaction before he returned to business.

"Nidoking, continue Sneasel's training. After you're done prepping him for Ice Beam, work on his evasion." Ash told his friend. The armored poison-type grunted and lumbered away. Sneasel hissed and dashed after him. He managed to deftly land on Nidoking's neck, just a few inches away from the spines.

"Infernus, Oz, you're with me." He stated. Both seemed pleased to have his attention. Flames lapped around his body and cast the air in a menacing glow. Ash frowned, but not at Infernus' antics. The fire-type seemed more powerful than normal, which was saying something. His flames were brighter and hotter. He could feel them from where he was, ten feet away.

Oz clasped her muscular arms behind her back and swished her striped tail around. Infernus snorted and spat a bit of smoke at her, to which the electabuzz whirred angrily and began to release sparks into the air.

Ash frowned and clapped. "Enough."

Infernus instantly came to attention and laid his focus upon Ash. Oz reacted slower, but she eventually calmed down. She kept a wary eye upon Infernus, however. It was clear that she didn't trust the fire-type. He couldn't blame her.

"Infernus, we're going to work on a new technique today." Ash explained. Infernus' eyes darkened with glee and more of the abnormally powerful flames raced up and down his powerful form. He'd have to keep an eye on his friend. Maybe Lance would have the answers. It would be bad if his suspicions of what influenced the change were true. "I need you to focus, alright?"

After the fire-type gave him an eager nod, Ash turned to Oz. She swished her tail and clasped her human-like hands behind her back again. "I never got the chance to use you in a normal battle. Today, I'm just going to get a look at what you can do."

Oz whirred in understanding. Ash turned to Infernus. "Do you think you can use Earthquake perfectly?"

Infernus nodded and lightly stamped his burning foot against the ground. Ash stumbled backward as tremors ran throughout the scorched earth but managed to catch himself. It was clear that Infernus hadn't put anything behind the attack. At least he knew that Infernus didn't need to practice Earthquake first. The fire-type always had been a fast learner.

Oz whirred in annoyance and swished her tail rapidly as the Earthquake made her trip. She bared her large fangs and lightning erupted in arcs from around her body. An electric current ran through her fur and the sharp scent of ozone pervaded the air.

Ash sighed. "That's enough, Oz. You two can fight each other later. For now I need you to get along."

The electric-type shrugged and backed down, although she still glared at Infernus in dislike. Ash suspected that the two would work out their problems on their own eventually. Their species were similar, as were their personalities. From what he'd seen of Oz so far, she was used to being the best and strove to become stronger through any means necessary. A perfect rival for Infernus, even if it was evident that the fire-type was stronger.

At the very least it was less intense than the way Nidoking despised Oz. He hadn't done anything overt and probably wouldn't do anything to destabilize the team, but the fury he had for her was a slow poison. Ash would have to work on it during this month. Oz would be a good addition to the team. Nidoking needed to get over the protectiveness he felt for the trainer, at least in this case.

"Oz, come back with me." Ash ordered as he started moving away. He could see Nidoking sitting down in front of Sneasel along with his other friends' battle in the background. It looked like Bruiser was holding his own. Tangrowth had a few vines in tatters and was having to lash out to prevent the fighter from getting in close.

When he and Oz were about three hundred feet away, Ash shouted out to Infernus. "Earthquake, then Lava Plume! Blow it all up!"

Even from this distance, he could see Infernus' eyes light up with delight. If the fire-type could have smiled, he no doubt would have had a maniacal grin all over his molten face. Infernus roared and spat a huge stream of disturbingly powerful white flame hundreds of feet into the air before he followed Ash's commands.

Infernus leapt up a few feet off of the ground before he slammed back onto the earth. Flames exploded around him as the world shook and split apart from his power and furious will. The fire-type stamped once more on his island of crumbled, blackened earth.

Ash watched with a wide grin as the earth groaned in response. Smoke suddenly leaked out from the deep crevasses, the only warning before lava exploded out of the earth and landed all over the field. It glowed dangerously as the molten stone oozed out over the surface, but Infernus simply roared and made a few hand motions before it was slowly pulled back into the deepest parts of the earth, although a thin layer of it remained on the surface. Infernus roared again and clenched his fists in order to force the lava to harden and cool.

By the time it ended Infernus stood triumphantly atop a heap of hot, blackened stone that filled in the holes his earthquake had created. The fire-type roared one last time and spat yet another intense stream of flame into the air, a pillar of fire that was like a beacon to the entire island.

Perhaps he'd have to come up with ridiculously destructive techniques more often, he mused. Infernus seemed to be happy with it and had picked up everything even faster than normal. It seemed that he was actually interested in this technique, which Ash decided to call Earth Burn. Perhaps not the most creative name, but it summed it up quite well.

Earth Burn was more devastating than it appeared, which was saying something. The Earthquake would knock down or stun most pokemon, which would leave them completely vulnerable to the true attack. Most trainers would instantly recall their pokemon should the battlefield be enveloped in lava and deep fissures. Those that wouldn't either had exceptionally strong pokemon or flying-types.

He wasn't so sure of its legality in an actual League match thanks to the potential dangers, but it would be useful nonetheless. Ash would just ask Lance about its validity when he got back. While most pokemon would easily survive it thanks to their natural toughness, with such a destructive technique it was best to stay on the safe side.

Aside from the obvious dangers of the Earthquake, fissures, and lava, the sheer heat that would be produced by the lava would be enough to knock out most pokemon in a short time, even if Infernus cooled the lava as he had just done.

"Good job, Infernus!" He shouted happily. Infernus responded with another exultant blast of flame to the sky. Ash smiled and looked around. Most of his friends were looking at Infernus with astounded and sometimes fearful looks. "Everyone, get back to work! It's just a new technique."

They didn't listen immediately, a testament to their shock, but eventually they followed his commands. Ash still had a silly grin on his face as he called Infernus over. He'd have to wait a few hours until he could safely go onto the hardening lava. Dazed could probably remove the heat from it, although he usually used Torrent for jobs like that.

"That was great!" Ash exclaimed when Infernus slunk his way over, his body still wreathed in pure white flame. He would be lying if he said that Infernus' boost in power wasn't disconcerting. There were only a few things he could think of that would make Infernus that much more powerful.

Mt. Ember would certainly make Infernus stronger, but not to this degree. He hadn't gained this much strength even inside the Cinnabar Volcano, although Ash would have to pay attention when he had Infernus work more on his physical power. Ash would have to ask Lance just to be sure.

"We're going to keep on working on that, but I need to see what Oz can do right now." Ash told his friend. Infernus snorted a plume of smoke and shot a derisive glare at Oz. She whirred back, although she didn't create arcs of lightning. Oz looked at Infernus with something resembling respect, although Ash could catch a glimpse of challenge in her angled eyes.

"I only got to see you in the Storm." Ash said to Oz. She nodded and clasped her hands behind her back. "Show me just how strong you are."

Oz nodded and closed her large eyes. She unclasped her hands and began to windmill them furiously. Energy crackled in the air and arcs of electricity surrounded her in an aura of stormy light. Ash watched carefully as she suddenly released all of the harnessed power in an immense bolt of electricity that split the air and caused a great thunderclap to roll through the earth.

Ash smiled. It was quite impressive, although it looked to have tired out Oz. They could work on that. Without the Storm and Zapdos fuelling her, she wasn't nearly as overwhelmingly powerful as before. She was still more than powerful enough to deserve a spot on his team, however, and he would do his best to make sure she felt the power given to her by the Storm again. This time, though, it would be earned, not given.

"Again." He ordered. Oz straightened up and nodded. Electricity ran through her fur as she prepared another blast.

It would be a long day.

XX

"Are you ready?!" Lance shouted with a dangerous grin. He swept a calloused hand through his red hair before he snapped his fingers. "Magnus!"

Magnus plodded forward on its two legs and roared. Ash, who had been waiting for this battle ever since he had gotten back from training with his friends, grinned. Torrent and Plume were both weakened from their earlier beat down at Dragonite's hands and the harsh training they had been put through during the day, but both were more than willing to fight.

"You have five minutes!"

Ash nodded and turned to his pokemon. "Magnus isn't as strong as Dragonite, but don't let your guard down. Nidoking and Oz, hit it with Thunderbolt. Dazed, shield the others and Disable it if you have the opportunity. Plume, harass it with Hurricane and keep it annoyed. Stay behind it if you can. Torrent, if it slows down enough use Hydro Pump. Otherwise do your best to neutralize its flames."

His friends signified their understanding, although Nidoking's eyes were narrowed and slightly glazed at the news that he'd be aiding Oz. The others knew their place. Ash turned to the others, who wouldn't be quite as useful in this fight.

"Infernus, intercept its fire breath every chance you get." Ash directed. "Bruiser, be careful. Only get into the battle if you have no other choice. Stay away from it and only use Focus Blast. Tangrowth, hit it with Ancient Power. Try and trap it if it lands and only use Earthquake if the others are already unconscious."

Infernus roared, Bruiser nodded and grinned with his reptilian face, and Tangrowth gurgled and waved his arms around happily. Ash smiled and patted Tangrowth and Bruiser on their shoulders. "I know you'll do your best. Be careful, alright?"

When most of his friends assured him that they would, Ash went over to Lance's side to watch the battle. Dragonite loomed behind them, the great dragon's eyes locked onto Magnus as the fire-type snapped and thrashed his orange tail around.

"You don't seem to mind staying out of this one, Sneasel." Ash observed as he reached into his pack to let Seeker out. Now that it was dark she didn't have to worry about the sun's painful rays. He smiled when she instantly latched onto his back, although Sneasel's presence forced her to huddle into his chest instead.

Sneasel hissed and spat a puff of frosty air before he pointed at Magnus. Ash noted with a frown that his claws extended right as his paw neared Seeker, although it wasn't close enough to potentially injure her.

Nevertheless, Ash laughed. "I thought you could take on anything. Are you afraid of Magnus?"

The dark-type hissed back a retort. Although Ash couldn't understand it, he figured it was something venomous. "I know. I was just playing."

Sneasel growled and hugged tighter onto his back. Ash rolled his eyes and looked up to Lance. "My friends are ready."

"Good." The Champion smiled. He adjusted his cape before he dramatically pushed his arm out. "Begin!"

Magnus took off with amazing speed. The Charizard was almost as fast as Dragonite. Ash nodded in satisfaction when he saw that each of his friends were more prepared this time.

Plume dashed up into the sky amazingly fast. She easily carved her way through the air and flapped her wings once. Ash's eyes lit up when a powerful gale of wind slammed into Magnus' side, although the monster of a Charizard was only forced a little to the right. It responded with a huge blast of flame, which Plume was barely fast enough to dodge.

While Magnus was distracted, Nidoking and Oz struck. Both Thunderbolts were quite powerful and capable of easily knocking out lesser creatures, but Magnus weathered it without much trouble. It simply blasted the duo with an immense stream of flame in return before it decided to fight for real.

Ash winced as the immense stream of blue flame struck its targets, although he managed to steal a glance at one of Dazed's shields springing forth in front of Nidoking and Oz before the blue fire, even brighter in the twilight, shattered it. He sighed in relief when he saw that the shield managed to protect Nidoking and Oz from the worst of the damage. They were obviously hurt, but they'd keep fighting.

As Magnus ripped through the air and bombarded the clearing with impossibly powerful blue flame, Nidoking and Oz separated from each other. They hadn't had the time to before.

It was then that the rest of the team entered the fray. As Oz and Nidoking did their best to strike the immensely powerful fire-type with electricity, Torrent suddenly began to fire several Dragon Pulses and Hydro Pumps. None of them struck the fire-type, who was visible in the darkness only because of its intensely bright tail flame that left a streak of fire in its wake, but it forced it to dodge.

More attacks joined the fray. Magnus was forced into an impressive display of aerial acrobatics as the glowing silver spheres of Ancient Power, huge Flamethrowers, Thunderbolts, Torrent's barrage, and the odd Psybeam lanced toward it. Plume did her job well. The Champion-level Charizard was unable to respond to the attacks, although it liberally bathed the world in flame as it evaded the assault.

Ash grinned. It looked like even something as powerful as Magnus couldn't stand up to a coordinated assault by six powerful pokemon at once. It was amongst the most powerful pokemon in the world, but it was only mortal.

For a while he simply watched. His friends kept up their barrage, despite the trials they had already been through. He was proud of them. Magnus probably wasn't going all out, but it wasn't going easy on them either. Being out of practice probably hurt Magnus' efforts as well.

He glanced up to see Lance's reaction, but was puzzled when he only saw a slight grin. Lance looked almost dangerous in the red light of Mt. Ember, the peak of which burned high above them.

It didn't take long for Ash to realize why Lance was smiling. Magnus let loose an incredible roar that instinctually made him want to run away. He might have gotten used to Nidoking's roars, but a Charizard's was an entirely different story.

Ash's heart sank when Magnus' tail flame suddenly grew to engulf nearly a quarter of the great beast's muscular tail. It fell even more when the flame shifted from a dark blue into a purely white inferno.

Magnus roared again, and this time fired an immense blast of flame with it. Pure white fire bathed the world as it flew past at an incredible speed, although Magnus paused its path of destruction when Plume used Quick Attack in conjunction with Steel Wing to slam into the beast's side.

The Charizard was sent tumbling through the air by the sheer force behind the blow, but effortlessly recovered and launched itself into motion before Oz and Nidoking could fire their Thunderbolts at it again. As it was, Magnus narrowly avoided another volley of attacks led by Torrent's Hydro Pump.

Ash winced when he heard a loud squawk that could only be Plume's. He knew what happened as Magnus flashed by at a strangely slow pace. It shot a blast of ordinary flame into its small arms before it dropped Plume's huge body, nothing in comparison to the magnificent specimen of a Charizard, onto the ground.

He instantly recalled it and only had the time to look up before Magnus continued its ruthless pace. It swooped down where Ash knew Tangrowth and Bruiser to be hiding and fire a tiny, albeit intensely bright, fire ball straight at them. One of Dazed's shields erupted in front of them, but the fire ball easily incinerated it and struck the duo.

The trainer went ahead and recalled the two, well aware that there wasn't even the faintest hope of victory now. Magnus was done playing.

Magnus roared again and suddenly vanished as wind whistled through the air. Ash's eyes widened as he realized that the Charizard had used Tailwind. He could hardly believe it. Plume had likely been using a weak version of it to improve her speed during the fight, although the quarters were too tight for her to take advantage of the full powered version, and Magnus had still kept up with her.

He saw a brief flash of psychic energy before it was overwhelmed by fire. Ash sighed and recalled Dazed. An instant later it passed by the Champion and Ash again. The trainer managed to spot a tiny ball of ordinary, condensed flame in front of its mouth before Magnus vanished, traceable only by its bright tail flame.

When he saw two bright lashes of flame that struck two separate areas at once, as well as two flashes of lightning in return, Ash went ahead and recalled Nidoking and Oz. If they weren't unconscious, they still weren't up for fighting. They'd barely weathered the first stream of flame when Dazed had blocked the majority.

Ash heard the regal cry of Torrent as the dragon-type fearlessly levitated out into the field. He angled his snout up to the air and created a Dragon Pulse. Torrent easily held it in place and fuelled it with power as he waited for Magnus to strike. The Charizard had vanished into the shadows of the night sky, untraceable even by its tail flame.

And then there was an explosion of incredibly bright green energy. Ash covered his eyes and looked away as the deafening explosion occurred. He sighed when he looked back.

Torrent was lying unconscious, prostrate against the ground. Magnus stood above him. The Charizard was obviously breathing a little hard, but didn't seem too badly injured by the immense explosion. Ash wondered just what it would take to defeat one of Lance's pokemon. They were impossibly powerful. He had a long way to go.

He tore himself from his thoughts and recalled Torrent. When he looked up at Lance, the Champion had a smile on his face. "Your team did well. Revive them and come back. We have a lot to speak about."

Ash nodded and made sure Sneasel and Seeker were holding on tight before he left for the cave. Whatever Lance had to say, he wanted to hear it.

XX

Twenty minutes later, Ash found himself standing next to the Champion. Lance had taken him to one of the few high points of the island outside of Mt. Ember, a large, jagged hill that didn't appear to be natural. His dragons flew around him, although both Bagon and Gible sat down obediently next to the Champion's feet.

His friends were arrayed around him as well, tired and sore from their battle with Magnus, who tauntingly spat a few small streams of flame into the sky every now and then. Plume circled with the dragons and lazily drifted through the air. The rest were behind him on the outcropping. Most of his friends had collapsed to the ground to try and get a bit of rest.

"Do you know why I chose Mt. Ember to train at?" Lance broke the silence as he stared up at the burning peak of the mountain and the great inferno that glowed from within. "It's out of the way, you know. Mt. Silver would have been more convenient, even if getting into the Sevii Islands isn't too hard thanks to Lorelei."

Ash shook his head and just listened intently. Lance would give him the answers.

"It's all because of what happened at Viridian City." Lance continued, still focused upon the red glow that illuminated the night sky. "Mewtwo destroyed us. If Giovanni hadn't been interested in saving your life the Indigo Elite Four would have been massacred."

He scowled at the mention of Giovanni. Ash didn't know why the traitor had been saved his life, but he didn't like it. At least he could take solace in the fact that Giovanni was probably nothing but ashes now, destroyed by the abomination he had helped to create.

"I was desperate and angry once I'd healed." Lance said darkly. His eyes blazed at the reminder of what Mewtwo had done to him and his team. "It had been a long time since I'd encountered something that outclassed me. While I had the League prepare for Team Rocket, I had a few teams search for anything that might be able to stop Mewtwo. We weren't able to."

"It didn't take too long before we came up with the Legends." The Champion frowned and tightened his hands. "After we saw what Mewtwo did, we thought that the only thing that could stop it was Mew or one of the Legendary Birds. The problem is, no one knew where to find them. We knew they were real, but they've always hidden from humanity in the deep places of the world."

Ash's mind flashed back to Articuno and its shrine in the heart of the Seafoam Islands and Zapdos in the center of its apocalyptic storm. He scowled and gazed at Mt. Ember, where the inferno dwelled deep beneath the surface. It looked like Lance had confirmed his suspicions.

"We found what we thought was Articuno not too long ago, while you were in the storm." Lance shrugged. "Not that we managed to make contact. We just noted a massive blizzard going toward the Ore Mountains. Any psychics that got within a mile of it were put into a catatonic state, but they woke up a few minutes after it passed." The Champion's lips curled upward. "We decided to leave Articuno alone after Sabrina advised us to stay away. When she intervenes, it's wise to listen."

After recalling the reactions of the psychics to him after he'd seen Articuno, Ash wasn't surprised. Sabrina was confusing, but he'd gotten that she didn't like to meddle in things outside of her influence. She would only do something if she knew that people would be hurt.

"And then Brock sent us the report about Zapdos. A bit late, since the Rocket HQ had already been reduced to rubble, but at least we felt like it could fight Mewtwo if it ever comes to that." Lance explained. "But Lorelei told me where we might be able to find Moltres weeks before Articuno was a blip on our radar. I just abstained from looking."

"Why?" Ash asked with a furrowed brow. Lance wasn't the kind of person that would wait to address a threat like Mewtwo. If Ash had learned anything about the man at all it was that Lance would do anything necessary to protect Kanto.

"There was never enough time and I didn't trust anyone else to come here." Lance shook his head with a sigh. "I didn't understand how powerful Legends were until I got the news about Zapdos, but I knew that none of the other members of the Elite Four could stand up to Moltres. My team is resistant to fire and to be honest, I'm much stronger than the others."

Ash looked at Lance with wide eyes. He knew that Lance was the strongest of the Elite Four thanks to his position as Champion, but he hadn't thought it was anything dramatic. But Lance spoke as though he was far beyond even Agatha.

Lance caught Ash's disbelieving look and laughed. He finally looked away from Mt. Ember. "I'm not bragging. My team is powerful. Dragon-types have the most raw power, and combined with the kind of training I've put them through they're practically indestructible. It takes a lot to put one down, although Lorelei has the best luck with it."

"Anyways," Lance began as he returned to their former topic, "I just noted its location. Lorelei told me to stay away from it, but I'm not the best at listening." The Champion laughed. "I looked up some of the legends of the Sevii Islands. It mostly matched up to everything else I'd heard about Moltres."

He looked at Lance interestedly. Ash had always liked hearing about myths and legends from his mother. They were interesting and showed a world that had long gone, replaced by this new world of steel and innovation. "What do you mean?"

"Everything I've read claimed that Moltres has always been a friend of humanity, less temperamental than Articuno and less prideful than Zapdos. When it still flew the skies, it brought comforting warmth and sunlight in its wake. When humanity grew, it hid itself away for fear of destroying us and forced its siblings to do the same. " Lance recited and stared hard at Mt. Ember's unnatural flames. "It, along with Ho-Oh, gave fire to humanity and gave its immortal flames to us as a symbol of its trust."

Lance frowned. "I'm not sure how much of it is true, but the League torches give credence to the latter claim, at the least. There's no record of where they came from other than the old myths. Regardless, I felt that Moltres would be the most likely to help us against Team Rocket."

"The others wouldn't have helped." Ash affirmed. Articuno had been hostile and destructive, all the icy fury of a blizzard stirred up by its awakening. Zapdos had seemed more apathetic than anything. It would have let its storm consume Kanto had it decided to ignore Ash's attempt to force it away.

"The others?" Lance mimicked with a suspicious, narrowed gaze. "What do you mean? Did you see Articuno as well?"

Ash blanched and opted to tell the truth. He trusted Lance more than almost anyone else. "I went into the Seafoam Caverns a few months into my journey. After a few days I reached the bottom level. Articuno woke up and attacked me, but I got away."

Lance sighed. "You get into far too much trouble. I admit that a lot of things happened in my first year of traveling, but I didn't run into any Legends. I'm not sure if that's a blessing or not."

The trainer shrugged, and Lance just shook his head in a mixture of amusement and disbelief before he went on to finish his story. "Anyways, while I dealt with Team Rocket I just made sure to keep Mt. Ember in mind. After Team Rocket was broken and I got the news about the Storm, I decided to change training locations."

He furrowed his brow. Lance had heard what Zapdos was capable of. Why would he have sought out Moltres? Perhaps he wanted to see if he could convince the Legend to fight the Creature should worst come to worst. Ash couldn't think of any sane reason to seek out the Bird.

"Why are we here?" He asked. Ash wanted to know why Lance thought this was a remotely good idea.

Lance's eyes brightened with a gleeful shine as he answered. A wide, child-like grin split the man's face as he raised one finger. "One: Mewtwo is still out there and I won't just let it destroy us."

He raised a second finger. "The tales speak of Moltres battling the strongest of trainers as a test of skill. We're going to challenge it!"

Ash blanched and looked at Lance as though he were insane. If the Champion was actually serious about challenging the Bird of Fire then that assumption may have been true. "What."

The Champion rolled his eyes. "We're going to battle Moltres as a final test. By then you'll be as ready as you ever will be and I'll be up to par. The legends of the Sevii Islands only say it is a test of strength. It won't hurt us."

He didn't say anything, but relaxed. Ash knew the kind of power the Legends wielded. There would be no victory against Moltres. But he couldn't dissuade Lance from attempting, not yet at least. Perhaps he would manage it sometime over the next month. If not he would have to go. Moltres was said to be more benevolent and closer to humanity than the other Birds.

"It's getting late." Lance remarked after a period of silence. "We should return to camp. Tomorrow is when your real training shall begin."

Ash nodded and gazed at Mt. Ember's burning peak for a few moments before he recalled of his friends save for Seeker and Sneasel. The dark-type gleefully ran throughout the night, although he was slower than usual. It looked like the heat and humidity of the island had begun to take their toll on the ice-type.

Seeker fluttered through the night, although she made sure to come back to Ash every few seconds so as to make sure he was still there. Ash assumed she just didn't trust her echolocation for whatever reason. He made sure to smile at her whenever she flew by. It was nice to see her again. He'd never gotten to spend quite as much time with the zubat as he would have liked.

He felt a bit uneasy as he walked through the darkness, which was banished by Mt. Ember's mighty blaze. Ash knew the source of the unnatural light, and now the other oddities he'd noticed made perfect sense.

The oddly high temperatures, the inferno that pulsed from within the dormant volcano, the boost to Infernus' power – they all came together. A Legend roosted atop Mt. Pyre's peak, a great avian entity of flame, a primordial force so powerful that it had hidden itself a way for the good of humanity.

And he would be fighting it, at least if he couldn't convince Lance otherwise. Ash knew he would be incredibly strong by the time he was done training with the Indigo Champion, but he wasn't so arrogant as to think that he would make any difference in the outcome of the fight.

Ash sighed inwardly and followed Lance. He made sure to keep an eye on Sneasel as they walked through the night. It wouldn't do for Sneasel to try and attack anything, especially not if he took a potshot at one of Lance's pokemon. That…wouldn't end well.

As they headed toward camp, Ash prepared him for the next day. Today was probably just a warm up so that Lance could figure out what Ash needed help with. Tomorrow would be the true challenge.

XX

He had guessed correctly, Ash groaned to himself as he collapsed on the flat stone of Mt. Ember. After their battle earlier in the day, which Dov had won as easily as Magnus had the night before, Lance decided that Ash and his team needed more physical conditioning. The obvious solution to that problem was to climb the easier parts of Mt. Ember.

All of his friends were out with him, even Seeker. She stayed in his pack, although she could flutter out at a moment's notice should he fall. Every now and then he would hear her chattering. When they reached a place to stop so that Ash could catch his breath he would scratch her ears and pet the tiny zubat.

The incline wasn't so steep as to keep his friends from being able to traverse it, but it was certainly a challenge.

Nidoking had difficulty climbing at all thanks to his species having evolved for flat plains and grasslands. He pushed through, though, and used his immense physical strength to tear the area apart if he needed to make another path.

Plume couldn't climb, but Lance wouldn't take pity on her. She flew with them, but Lance had set Dov after her. The draconic behemoth certainly wasn't going at its full speed and didn't try to actually harm Plume, but she was pushed to her limits. Ash suspected that her constant use of Agility and Quick Attack, along with a sustained Tailwind, tested her strength more than climbing the mountain did for the rest of the team.

Torrent didn't have much trouble. He could easily levitate up the mountain, although every now and then he had to destroy a rock that jutted out of the mountain in order to pass. His levitation wasn't particularly developed. The dragon-type had to push himself to get to a greater height.

Dazed could have easily teleported from place to place, but she was wise enough to save her energy. She shuffled along with the rest of the team and only teleported when her frail physical form would be unable to traverse the harsh land. Ash could see that it was beginning to put a strain on her. Combined with the humidity and heat, the exertion had left her yellow coat a sweaty mess.

As he had expected, Infernus was doing incredibly well. His humanoid figure meant that he could easily climb over obstacles and the increased strength he gained from being in proximity to Moltres meant that he easily ripped his way through the landscape and left small piles of molten rock and burnt vegetation wherever he stepped.

Bruiser did just as well. His superhuman strength and endurance meant that he easily kept pace with Infernus. If he didn't want to stay behind with the rest of the team he could have been done with the entire mountain by now. Ash felt a little jealous at how Bruiser made this rather demanding exercise look like a joke.

Tangrowth had little to no trouble. He was a resilient soul and if he ever got tired he could easily pull himself upward with his powerful vines and arms. The grass-type carried Sneasel around when the dark-type got tired and bored, although Ash's reprimand forced Tangrowth to put down his charge. Sneasel had hissed at Ash in annoyance for that, although he stopped trying to hitch rides on others and sucked it up.

Much to his surprise, Oz kept up with Infernus and Bruiser. She didn't have their superhuman endurance, but Oz refused to let Infernus beat her. Ash didn't think she would be much use in the battle with Lance that night, but he was glad to see that she was pushing herself. While Infernus hadn't been forced to work harder in order to be dominant in their rivalry it was doing wonders for Oz.

He took a swig of water and rubbed at his aching thighs, but yelped in surprise when a stream of flame blasted toward them. It was rather weak and clearly meant to startle them rather than do damage, but it did its job perfectly. Torrent reflexively doused the blast with a Water Gun.

Magnus grinned at them nastily as the monster of a Charizard flew by. It bared its fangs and launched itself through the air with renewed speed. Ash saw Plume flash by not too far from them, Aerodactyl hot on her tail. She suddenly blurred and Ash lost sight of his friend.

"Get moving!" Lance shouted at him as the Champion climbed back down to the flat area. He had claimed that he was out of shape as well, but Ash wasn't seeing it. The Champion didn't even look tired, even though they'd alternately run and climbed up the massive volcano's shell for at least half an hour. "We don't have all day!"

Ash grimaced and stood up. He had thought himself to be in good shape thanks to his long months of traveling, but he had sorely overestimated himself. This was killing him.

"Oh, come on." Lance snorted as Ash scowled. "There's not much more. The tunnels aren't too far from here."

"Tunnels?" Ash remarked as he and his friends renewed the climb. Lance hadn't told him much of what they would be doing today, outside of battling. He knew that they would have two battles a day for the rest of the time they trained.

Lance laughed. "Yes, tunnels. They run everywhere through Mt. Ember and there are quite a few powerful fire-types that call them home. They're pretty powerful at the moment, and it's up to you to fight through them. I'll show the way back."

"And after that?" Ash panted as he pushed himself up another ledge. There had been more as of late.

"We train." Lance said flatly. "This is to build endurance. You're too young for me to train for real, but I can get you into shape. Besides, you'll get closer to your pokemon by working with them personally. It's not really a problem for you, but that's the greatest thing I can teach you. That is how you progress as a trainer."

Ash nodded in agreement before he grunted again. Nidoking carefully pushed him up over the next ledge before the poison-type shoved his claws deep into the stone and yanked it out, which left an open way for the others.

The Champion casually clawed his way up from ledge to ledge, further ahead than any of Ash's friends. His cape blew dramatically as he looked down on Ash from a higher point. As they climbed higher the wind grew fiercer and more common, although it was still perfectly safe.

He reminded himself to tell Lance about the capes at the Celadon Department Store later. That would take his mind off of the horrible soreness he'd feel.

"And after we train, we battle." Lance grinned. He helped Ash up to the ledge when the trainer struggled. Ash nodded at Lance with thanks before he placed his hands on his knees and panted. The trainer moved over so as to allow his friends room. "Well, here it is. You'll see this cave a lot, so remember it."

Ash stared dubiously at the tiny crack in the mountain. He'd expected the entrance into the tunnels to be larger. Hopefully it was bigger on the inside. If it wasn't than his larger friends would have no hope of fitting.

"Dov, let Plume rest until we get out of the tunnels!" Lance yelled as Plume and the dragon blurred by. Plume suddenly appeared on the ledge and practically collapsed, her body overcome with the strain of evading the powerful dragon. Ash rushed over and ignored his tired limbs as he supported the massive bird.

"Are you okay?" He murmured as he kept Plume from falling down. Her large eyes met his and she nodded, but not before she affectionately nipped at his shoulder. Ash winced, but couldn't hold back his smile. "Good. You stay here and rest. I want you ready later. I have a technique for you to learn."

Plume cooed and nuzzled Ash before he had to leave. Lance was waiting. He took one last glance before he recalled most of his friends and followed the Champion into the tunnels.

The first thing he noticed was the heat. It was hot outside and had grown even warmer as they went up the mountain, but it was nothing to the oppressive hotness of the tunnels. It nearly took his breath away. He felt himself begin to sweat even more, a feat he had thought impossible.

"You'll get used to it." Lance assured him once Ash had looked around the cramped quarters. The tunnels were larger than they appeared from the outside, but it would be a tight fit for the six foot tall Nidoking or his other large friends. Considering that they would just end up in the way of each other's attacks, Ash decided to leave them in their pokeballs.

Only Infernus, Oz, Torrent, and Dazed were left out. Ash recalled Seeker before he examined his friends. Infernus, as expected, seemed extremely happy and energetic to be in the horrifically hot environment. As odd a comparison as it was, he almost seemed like an excited child.

Oz's fur was sweaty and matted, but she refused to give in while Infernus was still out. Lightning arced through her coat. If she didn't have such a resistance to electricity it probably would have amplified the pain somewhat. Water conducted electricity well, or at least the impurities within it did, but sweat was just as good.

Torrent, as expected, weathered the heat without difficulty. He regally glanced at the others and saw that they were suffering from the horribly hot air of the tunnels. The water-type snorted – in a dignified manner, of course – and held his head high.

"Dazed, could you protect us from the heat?" Ash panted. Dazed, who looked very unfamiliar with her sweaty fur and red eyes, nodded. Her eyes flashed a bright blue. Ash sighed in relief when some of the heat was taken away, although it was still plenty hot. She'd made it bearable. "Thank you."

Infernus growled in annoyance but didn't do anything. He just slunk forward and searched for any other signs of life in the tunnels.

"That's much better." Lance remarked, still unfazed. He nodded at the tunnel to his left. "Let's get a move on. We've got a lot to do today."

Ash nodded and resolutely stepped forward. The sooner they got out of here the better.

XX

Their first encounter with a fire-type pokemon began with a group of six slugma, led by a large magcargo. They sedately slid past the group, apparently unaware of their presence. One slugma glanced up at them with its large eyes but just warbled strangely before it moved on with the rest of the herd.

Ash looked at them oddly. They should be attacking them in some form of berserker rage. It was something he'd found at both the Seafoam Caverns and in the depths of the Storm. Whatever power the Birds' presence granted to the pokemon nearby seemed to drive them insane with rage. He didn't trust the slugma, even if they were being placid.

"That was anticlimactic." Ash remarked once the slugma had left the area. "Normally the pokemon around the Birds are –"

He was cut off by a jet of flame that harmlessly washed over a shield Dazed hastily erected. Ash's eyes widened when what had happened actually registered. That flame had been aimed straight toward him. Although it wasn't blue or another odd color, it would have been more than enough to incinerate him.

It seemed that his friends realized that too. He was rather glad that he'd opted against releasing Nidokign when his team turned toward the new threat with fury in their eyes. Oz didn't seem too upset, but Ash couldn't blame her. They hadn't gotten a chance to know each other yet.

Ash could barely believe his eyes when he saw an absolutely massive Magmar standing not too far from him. Its eyes were narrowed with annoyance when it realized that it hadn't killed its target. The trainer scowled when he realized that two more magmar appeared behind it.

That was odd. Magmar were a loner species. They only worked together to address a larger threat, and even then it had to have caused immense damage. The species was simply too treacherous to work well with others most of the time. For the larger Magmar to have gathered those two meant that it was probably on the cusp of evolving into a Magmortar.

It made sense, he mused as he met the leader's eyes. Magmar evolved from living in or near volcanoes or other similarly hot places for years. Mt. Ember might be dormant, but it had a Legend that dwelled within. That was probably a suitable replacement, although there might just be lava deep within the volcano.

"Torrent, use –"

He was interrupted again as each of the magmar spat huge streams of flame toward him. Dazed's shield cracked underneath the titanic power placed into the attack by the empowered fire-types, but it held. Torrent hurriedly levitated in front of Ash just to be sure. The dragon-type was more than willing to place himself in harm's way for the trainer.

Lance moved to stand beside him. Ash watched with horrified eyes as he saw Infernus step forward. Fire wreathed down his body, flickering blue with the power of his anger. Infernus roared with hatred in his lungs and spat flames with a core of white at the others of his species.

Ash could barely see through the haze of fire and smoke, but the trainer was able to make out the three magmar rushing forward to attack Infernus. He felt a bit of worry for his friend, but he trusted Infernus to defeat the magmar. The fire-type was able to keep up with Nidoking with a type disadvantage and at a lower evolution.

Infernus didn't bother with another stream of flame. He simply moved in close with speed only achievable within a volcano, although his brethren reacted with similar swiftness. The two smaller magmar slashed at Infernus with their wicked claws, but Infernus simply snarled and dispatched both of them with a punch to the throat. Fuelled by anger, he was far too fast for either to dodge.

The larger Magmar was as fast as Infernus and blasted the area with another fire ball before the two powerful fire-types engaged. Ash lost the two of them as their natural camouflage activated in the burning environment, but he had to feel worry for Infernus. Magmar was clearly no push over.

While their fight felt as though it lasted forever to Ash's anxious gaze, in reality it was less than half a minute of furious blows and slashes. In the end he saw Infernus emerge from the flames with a deathly furious expression, although it calmed when he saw Ash unharmed.

"Good job, Infernus." Ash congratulated hoarsely. He glanced down at the magmar in worry. The two weaker ones looked to be barely breathing and a hot, glowing substance drained from their throats. He paled when he realized it was the magmar substitute for blood. Magmar was even worse off. The huge fire-type was beaten and covered in the glowing liquid and was barely breathing.

"He's rather brutal. Quite efficient, though." Lance noted, unfazed by the damage to the pokemon. The Champion smiled when he saw the fear in Ash's eyes. "Don't worry, magmar are tough. It takes a lot more than that to put them down, especially in a volcano. They'll be up in a few hours."

Ash unconsciously sighed in relief and stepped forward. "Let's get going, then. I don't want to be in here much longer."

Lance nodded and led the group through the tunnels, the layout of which he had apparently memorized. Ash figured that he'd been in here during their raid on Knot Island. The Champion had mentioned that the Rockets had congregated around Mt. Ember.

He stopped thinking as he moved through the tunnels. All he needed to think about was getting out of the horrifically hot environment. Ash wanted to get back to mundane training and avoid whatever life threatening fun Lance had in store for him.

XX

A week of similarly brutal training later, Ash found himself sitting on the rocky high point with Lance again. It was still light enough to train, so his friends were practicing their techniques before they fought another of Lance's team.

Ash grinned when he thought of his progress so far. During the third day of training, Torrent had finally mastered Draco Meteor. He was still working on his control, but he was able to perform the move without fault. Now all he had to do was learn to use his energy more efficiently. It was a more daunting task than it sounded, but Ash knew that he could help Torrent to achieve it.

He was working on a new technique with Plume, although he didn't have a name for it yet. Her endurance and flying skills had already improved quite a bit thanks to Lance constantly setting his dragons after her, although Ash suspected she now had an undying hatred of the Champion.

Nidoking had helped Sneasel with his control training, but he'd done quite a bit of work with Ash as well. Ash hadn't made much progress on Mega Horn or Earth Power before now, but he suspected Nidoking would have both moves mastered in a week or so.

Mega Horn would be invaluable against psychics. Although Nidoking already had Shadow Claw and Shadow Ball to combat psychics, an additional weapon was always useful. While it wouldn't work as well as if an actual bug-type used it, it would still break a psychic's concentration and power.

Bug-types tended to be the best type of pokemon for facing psychics aside from dark-types. They didn't have energy from another universe coursing through their every cell, but they turned a psychic's own strength against them: their mind.

Most pokemon and humans had similar minds. They thought in the same way. Psychics could take advantage of that and intrude upon their thoughts or alter their perceptions. Bug-types were different. They had alien mindsets.

Some were part of a so-called hive mind, others had different outlooks or organs that were radically different from the norm. Psychics couldn't handle that and instinctually shied away from bug-types. They were simply unable to comprehend their consciousness, and trying to read a bug-type's mind tended to completely shatter any attempt at concentration and thus their power.

Bug-type moves weren't as good as the real thing, but they mimicked the presence of a bug-type. Psychics would scramble over themselves in an attempt to get away from Nidoking, even if they logically knew that they could easily fight the poison-type.

Earth Power was simple to learn, although it required fine control Nidoking hadn't quite mastered yet. It was similar to Earthquake, but focused upon a specific line instead of an entire area. Giovanni had used it quite adeptly in their gym battle and Ash wanted to achieve the same results.

Dazed had made progress on Signal Beam. It was astoundingly difficult for her to learn. She had to utilize the same sort of power that bug-types did, which tended to distract her and neutralize each of her attempts. Ash was understanding, though, and did his best to help her. To use Signal Beam went against all of Dazed's instincts.

Ash had Infernus working with Oz. The two didn't like each other in the least, but they were willing to help each other to learn the moves Ash had planned for them. Oz was invaluable for teaching Infernus Thunder Punch, which he had picked up with ease, and Infernus had managed to teach her Fire Punch in the same amount of time.

Now he had them sparring with each other. It wasn't exactly fair to Oz since Infernus was much more powerful thanks to Moltres' presence, but she held her own. Ash had made sure to restrict Infernus from using Earth Burn, of course. He didn't trust his friend not to use it if he got angry.

They seemed to tolerate each other better now, or at least respect each other's strength. Oz was no pushover, even when Infernus was empowered.

Ash sighed. If only the rest of the team got along so easily.

Nidoking still despised Oz, although the sheer exhaustion the training had put on him kept the poison-type from displaying it quite as vehemently. He glared at her every chance he got, though. Ash figured he would make them work together for a few days. If Nidoking didn't get over it by then he'd have to speak with his friend.

Bruiser still seemed as though he would break every bone in Sneasel's body given half the chance. Sneasel hadn't tried anything, but he had plenty of fun intimidating Seeker and threatening her. Ash had told him off, but relied upon Bruiser to prove his strength to the dark-type. That would force Sneasel to get over his problems.

Quite a bit of his time had been spent with Bruiser. The fighting-type had been fruitless in his efforts to learn Superpower, although he had the basic concept down. Superpower essentially relied upon manipulating the energy within the body to vastly enhance one's physical strength.

Thanks to Bruno's training, Bruiser was capable of accessing the life energy within himself with ease. Training with Focus Blast over the last week had only assisted his control. Superpower was a notoriously difficult technique to learn, however, and Ash knew that it would take a lot of work to acquire it. Knowing it was one of the signs of a well-trained Machoke or Machamp.

Ash assigned Tangrowth to help with the others' training. His vines and use of Ancient Power provided excellent mobility training, along with target practice. It was much easier to create an endless supply of stone and earthen walls than to constantly destroy the finite supply of boulders on the island.

He knew that he'd grown much stronger since he arrived. Each of his friends were more powerful now. Aside from their harsh forays into the tunnels and brutal battles with Lance's unstoppable pokemon, just having time to do nothing but train did wonders. When they were all put together it added up to quite a bit of progress.

"You've come a long way." Lance observed. Ash lazily glanced over. He didn't want to expend the energy to move. They'd had a very long climb today and Lance had his team attack every now and then, just to keep them on their toes.

"Thanks." Ash replied drily. "You probably would have kicked me off the island if I didn't."

"I'm talking about in general." Lance waved his remark away with a laugh. "You've only been training for what, eight months now? Not many people become as strong as you have in that time. I can only think of a few."

Ash looked over at Lance curiously. Normally Lance explained some way to maximize his training, or gave him advice on how to handle his pokemon. Sometimes he spoke of how they would try to defeat Moltres or inform him of going-ons in the League. This was different. "Who?"

"Me, for one." Lance grinned. "Steven, Cynthia and a few members of the Elite Four are others."

His eyes widened at that. Lance must really think he and his friends were powerful to even consider comparing him to the other Champions and some of the greatest Masters in the League.

"I won the Silver Conference my second year of training." Lance said, lost in nostalgia. "My first year I was in the Top Eight. Dragonite and I were the best that had been produced by my clan since my grandfather, the elder of the Wataru."

"Top Eight?" Ash marveled. That was incredible. Anyone deemed worthy of entering the Conference was highly skilled, but it was in the Finals that the most powerful trainers showed themselves.

Lance cracked a grin and reclined against Dragonite, who was curled up beside him. "I wasn't too happy with myself. I lost to some guy with a full team of ice-types designed specifically to counter me. Crazy old man had way too many pokemon to draw from."

"Anyways," Lance hurriedly got back on topic, "I expect you to do better. Top Four, at least. I reached the Top Eight without any training like this. You have as much potential as I do, and I want you to surpass me one day."

The trainer looked at Lance oddly. He couldn't even imagine equaling the Dragon Master. While his team was able to hold their own against Saph or Magnus for a few minutes now they were nowhere near ready to fight them one on one. It took all six just to counter them.

"Don't look at me like that." Lance rolled his eyes and lazily propped himself up. "You've got the potential. You just need to harness it and never let up. Fight for your power and you'll go far."

Ash nodded. "I will."

He was quiet for a few minutes as he digested the fact that Champion Lance, the Dragon Master himself, the Master of the Indigo Plateau Elite Four, thought that Ash could surpass him. Ash knew that he was skilled, but he didn't think it was that Lance thought so highly of him.

The trainer tightened his fists. He would do his best to reach the lofty goals Lance had set for him, no matter what. He'd do his mother and Professor Oak proud. Maybe that battle with Steven would be on relatively even grounds one day.

"Don't worry too much." Lance broke the silence. He looked at Ash seriously. "Keep your mind on it and work for it, but don't let the drive to become stronger consume your being. It's lonely at the top, Ash. I didn't know that."

Ash nodded and contemplated the Champion's words in silence. Lance had given him a lot to think about.

After a while Lance looked up at the sky and saw Mt. Ember in all of its majesty. A grin curled up the Champion's lips before he met Ash's eyes again. "C'mon, let's go. We haven't gotten enough battling in today."

Ash's eyes lit up and he got to his feet. Battles against Lance weren't so painful anymore. At the very least he couldn't defeat Ash in just a few seconds. They'd gained a lot of experience and knowledge about fighting aerial combatants from these battles.

He whistled and called Seeker's attention. After a few moments the tiny zubat fluttered over to him and latched onto his shoulder. She nuzzled him affectionately as he made his way down the rocky outcrop. Ash lightly stroked her fur as he began to run over strategies in his mind.

By the time he reached his friends, he had a rough strategy for any opponent Lance would send out against them. He didn't bother coming up with one for Dragonite. Lance hadn't sent the awe-inspiring creature out since their first day training. All of the others had been used except for Aerodactyl.

Ash communed quickly with his waiting team. Lance had given him less and less time each day. It didn't have too much of an effect by now. They knew what they had to do and his team worked well together. All of them could put aside their dislike for each other during battle.

He trotted back over to Lance after two minutes and grinned with Sneasel and Seeker as the battle between his team and Lev began. Ash watched with narrowed eyes as the monstrous Gyarados began the battle with a ruthlessly powerful Hyper Beam that turned everything in its path into molten slag.

The trainer smiled when Lev was instantly struck by two Thunderbolts, both much more powerful than when they had first come to train. Their exercises were paying off.

Ash lightly patted Seeker and watched the rest of show, proud at how far he and his friends had come. They were actually holding their own now, even if Lance's pokemon were still exponentially more powerful. It wasn't butchery as it was before.

Perhaps they'd actually beat one of the Champion's teammates by the end of their training, Ash mused. That would be amazing.

XX

"Great job, buddy!" Ash cheered as Nidoking stamped on the ground. A winding fissure lined with bright golden light carved its way through the ground. It slowly widened until it was large enough for a golem to have fallen through. "I knew you could do it!"

Nidoking grunted happily in return and stamped down again. This time he aimed Earth Power toward Infernus, who roared loudly and spat a huge stream of flame into the air in annoyance as he fell into the shallow pit. He effortlessly leapt out and shot a small fire ball at Nidoking to repay the ground-type.

The poison-type grunted as he slid backward from the force, but didn't attack in turn. He was too level-headed for that. Ash figured that Nidoking had expected an attack in return for his prank regardless.

Infernus just snarled at Nidoking again before Oz blasted him with a Thunderbolt. The fire-type roared and spat a Flamethrower at her, which the electric-type dodged with incredible speed. Both were quickly engaged in a duel of fire and lightning, both of the powerful pokemon seeking the edge.

Ash grinned at that. Infernus and Oz still disliked each other with a passion but had learned to work together. They enjoyed battling the other too much to simply cease contact, plus Ash had the duo training together most of the time. It had done wonders for them. Being able to beat each other into oblivion took most of the venom out of their interactions.

He suddenly frowned and glanced toward Nidoking, who had started to try Mega Horn again. Nidoking had made quite a bit of progress with the difficult technique over the past weeks and he expected his friend to perfect it in a few days.

Earth Power had been learned without too much difficulty. He hadn't devoted nearly as much time to teaching it to Nidoking over the last two and a half weeks as he had Mega Horn, but it was still important to learn. A controlled ground-type technique like Earth Power could be exceedingly useful when dealing with physical fighters.

Although the training was incredibly difficult, Ash couldn't express just how glad he was to go through it. Lance had taught him more than he had thought possible and had made him and his team stronger. They could even do some real damage against Lance's pokemon now, although his team was always handily defeated in the end. At least Lance's pokemon had to fight for it now.

Ash looked to the sky when a shadow swept over him and blurred out the waning sun. He instantly recognized the shadow's owner to be Dragonite. As he waited for Dragonite to land next to him, Ash took a few gulps of water. Moltres didn't affect the environment as radically as Articuno or Zapdos did, but Mt. Ember's island was noticeably hotter and brighter than Knot Island. He had to drink constantly to stay hydrated.

Dragonite didn't take long to land. Ash and Nidoking turned away as a cloud of dust was kicked up and waited for it to settle somewhat before they looked back.

"Hey, Lance. Hey, Dragonite." Ash greeted. Nidoking grunted at Dragonite, who waved and gave a low, deep cry. Lance leapt off and easily landed on both feet.

"Ash, Nidoking." Lance nodded. He inspected Nidoking, whose thick hide was slightly charred thanks to Infernus' irritated blast of flame. "Did you have him training with Infernus?"

Ash shook his head. A slight smile split his face. "No, it was an accident…kind of. Nidoking deserved it."

Lance cracked a smile as Nidoking growled in denial. "I see. Anyways, I just wanted to tell you to head back to the camp right now. We're cutting it a bit early tonight. Tomorrow is going to be nothing but battling."

"Really?" Ash questioned disbelievingly. His friends could barely handle two fights a day. Devoting an entire day to nothing but battling Lance's horribly powerful pokemon would leave them sore for a week. Well, it would if Lance hadn't brought such a ridiculously huge supply of revives and other medicines.

One potion Lance had brought accelerated the healing process without leaving pokemon weak and sore for a day or so, a great improvement over most potions. Most simply enhanced healing to incredible levels, but the process took an enormous amount of energy from the pokemon and weakened them. Eliminating that side effect was an incredible feat and helped Ash's training along immensely.

"Yes, really." Lance rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, though. We're still going to battle tonight. I want you up to par for tomorrow. I'm going to accelerate your training. We only have a week and a half or so left before I have to return to Indigo Plateau."

Ash nodded seriously. "I understand." His tone grew slightly hopeful. "You aren't still planning to battle Moltres, are you?"

"Of course I am!" Lance laughed boisterously. He absentmindedly ran his fingers through his dark red hair as he grinned dangerously. "It's the ultimate test of strength! It'll be fun."

When Ash still didn't look convinced, Lance rolled his eyes. "Oh, don't be such a Steven. This'll be the greatest experience of your life! How many people have battled a real Legend?"

"Not many." Ash admitted. He continued drily. "Probably because most people have the sense to avoid that. Articuno wasn't too happy to see me and Zapdos knocked out all of my pokemon without even trying."

"I'm not saying it won't be difficult." Lance pointed out. "In fact, we'll probably get our asses handed to us. None of the legends speak of anyone coming back a victor. But the experience of seeing and fighting Moltres will be worth it! You'll be ready to stand next to me by the time we ascend Mt. Ember."

Ash smiled and nodded, although he was still rather worried about the consequences of challenging the Bird of Fire. Lance hadn't faced the Birds before. They weren't as malicious as Mewtwo, but they were no less dangerous. Moltres seemed to have a connection to humanity and didn't greatly affect the world like Articuno and Zapdos did, but Ash had no doubt that it would fight them all the same. Perhaps it wouldn't try to kill them, but it would be extremely difficult all the same.

"We can discuss this more later." Lance resolved. He looked down at Ash. "Just get back to the camp soon. You'll need all the rest you can get."

"Understood." Ash replied seriously. The Champion looked at him searchingly before he leapt onto Dragonite's massive back and took off. He was gone in seconds.

"Nidoking, could you call the others?" Ash requested. Nidoking nodded in response and looked up to the sky. He roared as loudly as possible, a great, powerful sound that made Ash cover his ears. Even then it still rattled his bones with the strength behind it.

When Ash looked around and noted that most of his friends were coming, he smiled at Nidoking. "Thank you."

Nidoking grunted and affectionately patted Ash on the shoulder. Ash patiently waited until all of his friends arrived before he began the walk back. Lance had told him to avoid transporting his friends in pokeballs while they were training. Every bit of exertion counted.

Along the way he made sure to tell them of the trials ahead. Only Infernus and Oz didn't wilt a bit when Ash told the team that tomorrow would be devoted exclusively to battling Lance. They enjoyed fighting the most, although Ash suspected Oz was only so passionate about it so that she could one up Infernus.

He just snorted inwardly with amusement and focused on the rugged and overgrown path that would take them to the camp. His mind was already buzzing with strategies.

XX

"Why do you never use Aerodactyl?" Ash inquired after the battle that evening. Lance had sent out Dov, who was just as brutal of a fighter as Magnus. The dragonite enjoyed stalking and crushing the members of Ash's team one by one, although he took quite a few hits in the process. He paid for his arrogance much more than when they had first started, although his tough armor was enough to keep the dragonite from taking any real damage.

Lance turned to him sharply. The Champion clearly hadn't expected that question. "What?"

"You never use Aerodactyl." Ash stated. "You've used all of your pokemon against my team except for it. Sneasel spends most of his time training with Vibrava, Bagon, and Gible now. But you never even use Aerodactyl to train Plume."

The Champion frowned thoughtfully and glanced up at the night sky. Ash followed his gaze and picked out the forms of Dragonite, Dov, Saph, Magnus, and Aerodactyl darting through the warm air. Each playfully fired beams of energy and flame that could reduce a house to smoking rubble at each other.

"Aerodactyl doesn't play well with others. She's a fossil pokemon." Lance finally said, as though that resolved everything. When Ash's inquisitive expression clearly told the Champion that it didn't, Lance continued. His tone slipped into the voice he used whenever he was teaching something to Ash.

"Aerodactyl is a pokemon, but she's not like any other you're likely to meet. Unless you start hanging out with Steven a lot more." He added as an afterthought. Ash leaned forward interestedly. Sneasel growled from within his pack as he was woken up. "Fossil pokemon are a miracle of science. Cloning is a tricky art in itself, as Blaine will tell you for hours if you give him the chance, but that's the simplest part of bringing ancient pokemon back to life."

Lance stared at the black rock they sat on, which was only distinguishable from the night because of Mt. Ember's blaze. "Scientists had to engineer and repair the DNA they found from fossils. It's impossible to get DNA that old and still have it in perfect condition. They had to pick up the scraps and make a clone feasible."

"Blaine actually did it, you know." Lance remarked drily. "It was back before that crazy old man hid away in the volcano. He headed the Cinnabar gym and the Cinnabar Institute and practically invented the field of cloning. Aerodactyl was one of the first successful clones. They gave her an immune system and a bunch of other additions that I don't know that much about." The Champion admitted.

Ash's eyes widened. He'd heard that Blaine was a genius, but he hadn't realized the man had been that involved. All he'd gotten from Surge during their journey was that Blaine had been involved with cloning research. That was incredible.

"She's still way too much for any other trainer to handle, so they gave her to me as a gift when I became Champion." Lance explained. "Aerodactyl has trouble listening until you prove yourself to be much more powerful than her, and she's still difficult to control. She's my last resort in battles."

"How dangerous is she?" Ash asked interestedly. Aerodactyl was obviously powerful to be on Lance's main team. She was terrifyingly fast, could easily weather most any attack, and had the physical strength to crush most opponents without a thought. Those were just physical attributes, though. It was a mindset that made one truly dangerous.

Lance gave him a grim smile. "She's like Sneasel, but much more vicious. If something's not part of the team, she sees nothing wrong with ripping them limb from limb. They're food and potential threats. I only let her out as a last resort or when I'm dealing with Team Rocket." The Champion grinned dangerously. "She's only allowed out in normal battles when whatever she's fighting is strong enough to fight her off. Needless to say, that doesn't happen often."

"I can only imagine." Ash commented drily. "Have you ever had to use her in an official match?"

"No." Lance admitted with a laugh. "I've only had two challengers since I became Champion. None of the others had the right team to make it through the rest of the Elite Four. Neither got past Dov."

Even though he knew how powerful Lance was, it was still odd realizing how much stronger than he was than the others of the Elite Four. The immense amount of time and energy required to properly raise a tiny Dratini into a magnificent Dragonite had paid off well for Lance, as had the years growing his other pokemon to nearly the same level of power and skill. Not even Agatha could contend against him.

"When did you use her, then?"

"Against Cynthia and Steven. I haven't battled Wallace yet." Lance shrugged. "It's been awhile since the Champions got together, though. Team Rocket ate up too much of my time."

Ash could only imagine how destructive those battles would be. If they could fight on equal grounds with Lance then they probably had to battle miles away from civilization before they could use their full power.

They were quiet after that. Ash hadn't expected to learn so much from the Champion, although the knowledge was appreciated. It was power in itself. Besides, it was fascinating to learn more about the efforts required to resurrect ancient pokemon into modern times.

On his part, Lance seemed to be deep in thought. His eyes seemed far away as they stared up at Mt. Ember and the inferno that erupted from its peak.

Ash began to run over scenarios in his mind about tomorrow. They'd probably go through a hefty supply of revives, but Ash wanted to see if he could defeat one of Lance's pokemon in the process. It would be a nice outcome, even if it probably wouldn't occur.

Still, it was something to hope for. Ash would just have to work hard.

XX

Three days before they would have to leave for Kanto, Ash and Lance were locked into a battle. Or, rather, their teams were. Ash only fought with four pokemon since Lance wanted to challenge him further. The Champion had released Saph, who had adapted quite well to her new form over the last month.

Ash grinned as Plume smashed into Saph's large form with Super Speed. He hadn't perfected the technique he'd begun to work with Plume on around two weeks ago, but this was something he'd created in his spare time.

Super Speed wasn't very exciting or revolutionary, but it got the job done. It was essentially a combination of Agility, Tailwind, and Quick Attack. Quick Attack wasn't very powerful, but when it was boosted by Plume's own mass and the velocity acquired through sustained use of Tailwind and Agility it was devastating. Even Saph was forced away by the powerful attack.

Nidoking shot an Ice Beam toward Saph, but she flickered out of the way with Extreme Speed. The Ice Beam, which was rather powerful and left a large swathe of frosty air in its wake, sheared its way through the air and far into the horizon before it vanished.

Plume squawked as Saph blasted her with Blizzard and began to free fall through the air. She recovered and entered Super Speed in order to avoid any other attacks from Saph, who expertly dodged a Thunderbolt from Oz and an Ice Beam from Torrent. Ash winced when Saph suddenly used Extreme Speed and easily caught Plume, who was instantly knocked out as Saph shot a second Blizzard at her.

Ash quickly recalled Plume as she fell to the ground, clearly unconscious. She'd done well, and he told her so as he clipped her pokeball onto his belt. He quickly looked to the battle. Lance didn't let him command during these mock battles, but he liked to see how his team did. It let him correct flaws later.

When they had days full of nothing but battling Lance let him actually command his team during their battles. They were to build up his actual skill in commanding his friends, while these battles were to show how far his team had progressed in skill and strength.

He scowled as Torrent's Dragon Pulse missed Saph by mere feet as she exited Extreme Speed. One of the most annoying aspects of battling Saph and the other dragonite that Lance commanded was their sheer speed, which was boosted considerably by the techniques he taught them. It made them almost impossible to hit. Plume and her astounding speed was the only real counter he had.

Ash waited for his friends to adjust to Saph's speedy tactics. They'd learned what to do to put the dragonite off balance. If they couldn't hit her with precision attacks then they would have to use an attack so large and powerful that Saph couldn't help but be consumed by it.

The trainer grinned as Nidoking and Oz began to cover for Torrent. Whenever Saph slowed down she was bombarded by Ice Beams and Thunderbolts, although none of them hit. She was incredibly fast even without Extreme Speed and had the endurance to keep the game up for hours.

They weren't trying to hit her, though. All Nidoking and Oz were trying to do was distract the powerful dragon-type. Torrent was their real player.

Ash was rather glad that they'd managed to put aside their differences during battle. He'd had Nidoking and Oz work together for the last week and the ground-type still despised the electabuzz. It was odd. Nidoking was normally much more level headed than this. He wasn't known for keeping grudges, especially not after Ash had talked to him about his irrational hatred more than once.

He put that out of his mind when he saw Torrent spew huge amounts of frozen air from his snout. It settled around him in a dense fog of frost, but was immediately uprooted and pushed into motion when Torrent twitched his rear fins.

Torrent was instantly consumed in an immense twister of ice. The Ice Storm exploded upwards until it reached at least a hundred feet up into the air. It wasn't very draining compared to Draco Meteor, which was why Ash hadn't opted to go with the exceptionally powerful technique. He wanted to make sure Torrent could use it efficiently before utilizing it in a real battle. Right now it still acted like a dragon-type Hyper Beam.

"I hate that technique." Lance grumbled from beside him. The Champion looked annoyed. "Saph isn't experienced or powerful enough to just blow it away yet. Torrent can keep it up through anything she throws at it."

Ash grinned at the Champion. Sneasel snickered and climbed higher onto Ash's back so he could see Torrent's incredibly powerful ice and dragon-type combination better. Seeker was with Bruiser today since he wasn't fighting. She was probably huddled close to the fighting-type to stave off the cold.

Saph tried to go around it, but the Ice Storm suddenly grew ten feet larger in every direction and caught her in its grip. The dragonite gave out a low, powerful cry as she was yanked into the icy twister, but managed to break free of the dangerous storm moments later.

He could tell that the shock to her system from the freezing air had slowed her down. Saph was still incredibly fast, but she seemed more sluggish than usual, which was the entire point. His friends knew that Ice Storm wouldn't be more than an annoyance for the powerful dragon-type, but it weakened her for a while.

Nidoking took advantage of her weakened state first. He reared back and launched an exceptionally powerful Ice Beam straight into her chest. His aim had improved quite a bit thanks to their time training.

Oz followed his example mere moments later. She windmilled her arms quickly to produce more electricity before a Thunderbolt blasted out and slammed into Saph, which stunned the damaged dragon-type. The force behind the blast of electricity forced Saph to brace herself.

As Saph slowed down, Torrent released his hold on the Ice Storm and opted for his own Ice Beam in return. Ash shivered slightly as all the heat in the area seemed to drain away for a moment before the Ice Beam shot toward Saph. The heat returned almost immediately, as though the attack had never happened.

Ash shot a look at Lance, who seemed rather impressed with the team's progress. While it was still four-on-one against the weakest member of Lance's team, doing this much damage to one of the Champion's pokemon was a new event. His friends had come close a few times, but this was the first time that victory seemed in sight.

Saph suddenly vanished into a blur. Ash winced when he saw her suddenly appear in front of Oz before the ordinarily friendly Dragonite smashed the electric-type with the back of her claws. Oz was instantly floored, although Saph was caught with another of Nidoking's Ice Beams before she flickered away.

Nidoking was next. Saph, who was visibly slower despite her renewed strength, flickered in front of the poison-type and blasted him with a huge gale of icy air barely recognizable as a Blizzard. Ash winced, but grinned when Nidoking charged through the ruthlessly powerful attack and clawed the dragon with Poison Jab. She took an Ice Beam to the back moments later, courtesy of Torrent.

Despite his efforts, Nidoking collapsed to the ground. Saph was already moving slower, however, and Ash suspected that her injuries and Nidoking's powerful, quickly acting poison was taking its toll on her.

Torrent had gotten the gist of her newfound strategy now and simply closed his eyes. He raised his snout to the sky and formed a huge sphere of bright orange energy. The dragon-type shot it high into the air, and Ash grinned when the orb seemed to hang there for a few moments.

Ash would normally be annoyed that Torrent had decided to use Draco Meteor, which took far too much energy to be efficient in most cases, but he realized that this was all or nothing. Torrent had one chance to defeat Saph.

He clenched his fists tightly. Saph had activated Extreme Speed again and was practically invisible. Ash could only catch the shortest of glimpses of the powerful dragon-type in the form of a golden blur.

Saph moved so fast that he didn't even see her appear behind Torrent with glowing claws. She must have been too badly injured and weakened to use anything other than Dragon Claw. It was one of the simpler dragon-type moves.

As she made to slash into Torrent and knock him unconscious, Torrent's eyes snapped open. He must have detected her presence somehow. Ash grinned wildly as the bright energy sphere that hung in the sky suddenly separated into a dozen smaller spheres and shot toward Saph like controlled comets. Streaks of energy burned in their wake as they slammed into Saph's general area.

Although only two actually hit Saph and one actually hit Torrent, proof of his lack of control, it was sufficient to defeat Saph. Torrent was knocked unconscious moments later by a second misaimed comet, but Ash had a wide grin on his face nonetheless.

"We won!" He shouted ecstatically as he pumped his fist and jumped into the air. Ash's heart was pounding with excitement as he took in the reactions of his other friends. All were just as excited as he was, even Sneasel. Seeker seemed to have no idea what was going on at first, but Bruiser grunted something to her and she began to squeak happily as well.

When he had calmed down somewhat, Lance stepped forward with a proud smile on his face. "Good job! I honestly didn't expect you to beat me yet."

Lance's smile suddenly morphed into a grin as wide as Ash's own. "I think you're ready."

Ash's joy was suddenly replaced with unease, but he nodded in reply. By now he understood that Lance wouldn't be dissuaded. After everything Lance had done for him this past month, the least he could do was accompany the Champion to his challenge. It was hardly the most dangerous thing he'd done on his journey if the legends of Moltres were true. "I understand. I'll do my best."

"Trust me, I know that." Lance said, a hint of pride in his voice. He looked at the pokeball that held Saph. "Whether we win or lose up there, know that I'm glad that I trained you. You're living up to your potential, and I can't wait to see you flatten the competition at the Conference."

The trainer smiled embarrassedly. He still didn't know how to handle the Champion's praise very well. It was different from anyone else's. Lance was someone he had looked up to since he was a toddler. The Champion was the ultimate defender of the League, a hero.

Ash knew Lance better now and knew that he was just a man, albeit a great one. But Lance was still the Champion, and it felt odd to receive praise from one of the most powerful trainers in the world.

"When will we go up?" Ash asked quietly.

"Two days." Lance replied immediately. "You've come far, but you should get every last bit of training you can before we do something this big. It's a once in a life time opportunity. I want you to be at your best for it."

The trainer nodded and looked up at Mt. Ember contemplatively. It was hard to believe that he would be ascending the hallowed peak soon, much less that he would challenge a true Legend, not the mockery of one that Mewtwo was.

"Let's get going." Lance spoke up with the grin Ash had come to fear. It normally accompanied Lance's more painful training exercises, such as going into the unbearably hot tunnels or for a long climb while Dragonite shot weak Hyper Beams at the group every now and then.

His fears were confirmed when Lance's gaze drifted up to the area of the mountain that held the tunnels. "We've got some climbing to do. Go revive your pokemon and meet me by the foothills."

Ash inwardly groaned but did as Lance bid. He'd gotten used to the harsh temperatures and the climbs that sapped his strength, but it would never be something he looked forward to. But he needed to do his best. The end of his training approached.

XX

"Get on Saph." Lance told him after Ash finished with his lunch. This morning they hadn't done very much, but had spent the time alone except for their pokemon. The Champion had them do a few light exercises before lunch, but that was only to get the blood pumping.

Ash nodded as he finished off the last of his sandwich. He wiped the crumbs off onto his dirty pants and stretched a bit before he walked toward Saph, who awaited him on all fours. Her tail swished excitedly and her eyes were alit with anticipation.

All of Lance's pokemon seemed excited. Ash couldn't say the same thing about him. He felt like he was going to throw up. The trainer wasn't used to being nervous, but he had seen the power the Birds held. Ash couldn't imagine fighting that, no matter how much stronger he became. Zapdos' mere presence was enough to nullify his friends' attacks.

Despite his apprehension, he climbed onto Saph's back and held on tightly. Lance waved at him from his position on Dragonite's back before he suddenly whistled. All of Lance's pokemon that could fly were outside of their pokeballs, a veritable army.

He clenched on so tightly so Saph's hard scales that his hands turned white. Ash had already taken off his cap, so he didn't have to worry about it being torn from him by the wind. The trainer could feel the wind whistling through his hair as Saph launched into the air after Lance and Dragonite, her speed incredible even at the relatively sedate pace she flew at.

Ash dared a look at the ground hundreds and thousands of feet below. He stared at the forests and the long, charred strip of land that he had spent so much time training on. The trainer took in everything one last time before he looked up.

Mt. Ember passed rapidly beside him. They had taken a steep angle, although it wasn't so steep that Ash felt as though he were in danger of falling. He spied a few pokemon on the dormant volcano's harsh cliffs as he sped by, but they were moving too fast to identify them as anything other than blurs of color.

In a few more seconds they launched high above the peak of Mt. Ember. Ash looked down and took in the mountain that he would soon fight a Legend upon.

Most of the peak was covered with a thick layer of black stone, but he spotted a huge chasm that lead deep into the volcano's heart. Fire was visible from within, although it wasn't at the height or intensity it was at during the night. Since he didn't see Moltres anywhere, he assumed that it slumbered within the volcano itself.

Above the roar of the air, Ash heard Lance call something out. Whatever it was, it caused his draconic team to angle downwards after him. The trainer put his hands underneath the overlapping scales to get a better grip as they shot down to the black stone. He felt slightly sick as he watched it rise up toward him.

Saph suddenly cut most of her speed away and landed lightly upon her large hind legs. Ash groaned as he leapt off of Saph, although he thanked her before he did so. It was no wonder that Steven had complained about flying with Lance.

He looked around and noted that most of Lance's pokemon appeared uneasy. The Champion had released Gyarados, Mael, Vibrava, Gible, and Bagon. Ash knew that Vibrava, Gible, and Bagon wouldn't be fighting. They were hear to watch.

Ash could feel that Moltres was nearby. The air pulsed with restrained power, as though Moltres was trying to keep itself weak. It was almost as hot as the tunnels, but much less humid. That was a relief, at the least.

"Take a moment to rest, Ash." Lance said as he walked over. He sounded like an overexcited child now that they were finally about to challenge Moltres. "We have all the time in the world now."

"I'm okay." Ash said a few seconds later. His stomach settled pretty quickly, and he went ahead and released his friends. Nidoking took in the surroundings and laid his ears back, aware of the presence of something far beyond himself.

Plume cooed softly at Ash before she looked around warily. Her eyes narrowed at Lance with dislike before they continued her scan. Ash stroked her glossy crest to try and comfort her, but she remained tense.

Torrent had a similar reaction as Nidoking, although he kept himself more composed. Nevertheless, the dragon-type levitated over to Ash and rumbled worriedly. Ash patted his friend on the chest and whispered, "It's alright. Everything's going to be fine."

Ash had to admit that he didn't like seeing Torrent or Nidoking afraid. It was antithetical to their beings. They were monarchs amongst their kind, the ultimate protectors and most powerful fighters. He had only seen them afraid when he had been in danger.

Dazed's pendulum began to vibrate furiously the moment she was released. Like the others she stayed close to Ash, although she didn't need any reassurance from the trainer. Ash nodded and smiled at her, to which she smiled at him in turn with her expressive eyes.

Infernus growled happily when he was released. His black eyes seemed to pulse with energy as he stood at the top of the world. He snorted flame, which was pure white and much more powerful than it was even at the base of the mountain. Ash wouldn't be surprised if he was capable of taking on one of Lance's pokemon with that kind of power at his command.

Bruiser cracked his knuckles and looked at Ash with worry as the energy of the mountain oppressed him. Ash nodded and pounded his own chest in reassurance, to which Bruiser couldn't help but smile in return.

Ash released Seeker directly into Bruiser's arms. She chattered uneasily when she felt the heavy presence around them, but Bruiser lightly patted her frail form and grunted something to her. Seeker whined, but fluttered over to Ash.

He opened his pack for her and adjusted it so that it laid on his front instead. It was slightly awkward, but it made Seeker feel more comfortable. Plus it kept Sneasel from jumping all over her when he wanted to ride on Ash's back. Ash stroked her ears lightly before he closed the pack up for Seeker.

Tangrowth gurgled happily when he appeared. He didn't seem to realize that there was anything wrong. The grass-type simply wrapped Ash up in a tight hug and went off to greet the other members of the team, who looked at Tangrowth oddly.

"Hey, buddy." Ash laughed. Tangrowth gurgled and waved his arms around excitedly before Ash released Sneasel. The dark-type's eyes snapped open with horror when Sneasel felt the power that surrounded them, but he was wrapped up in a hug from Tangrowth before he could do anything.

When Tangrowth released Sneasel, the dark-type instantly rushed over to Ash and climbed up his back. He tried to open up the pack so that he could jump in, but Sneasel whined pitiably when he realized that Seeker already occupied it. Instead he simply wrapped himself around Ash, who frowned softly and scratched behind the terrified ice-type's feathers.

Oz was released last. She noted the presence, but opted to glare at Infernus instead. The electric-type sparked at Infernus in annoyance when he didn't acknowledge her in the least, too busy basking in the sheer power he gained from being on Mt. Ember's peak.

Ash smiled and looked at his team. They had shed sweat, blood, and pushed themselves to their absolute limits to get here. They weren't just his team or his friends, they were his family. Everything they had fought for had taken them here, to this mountain occupied by the Fire Bird.

They looked back, and Ash felt any hint of worry ease from him. He trusted his team. Ash wasn't so foolhardy as to believe that they would defeat Moltres, but they would give it everything they had.

"I'm ready." He said with resolve. "Let's do this."

Lance laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. "That's more like it."

They walked forward until they reached the edge of the chasm. Lance stopped at a worn hunk of rock that jutted out oddly from the rest. It took him a moment, but Ash realized that it was an altar or shrine of some sort.

He examined it more quickly. The rough form of a bird was visible now that he looked, and ancient markings had been hewn into the stone. It looked as though it had been bathed in impossibly hot flames. Ash could feel power coming from it, just as he could the altar that Articuno had rested upon.

"I think I know what to do." Lance murmured. He pointed Ash away. "Stand back."

Both of them walked until they were about three hundred feet away from the chasm from which great flames began to burst from, hot and bright even in the daylight. Lance's eyes were alit with glee as he put one foot forward.

"Moltres, I, Lance Wataru, the Champion of the Indigo League and Master of the Elite Four, and Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town challenge you!" Lance shouted. Wind began to pick up as he continued his words echoed throughout the massive volcano's crater and the temperature grew hotter. His cape billowed dramatically in the powerful winds as he roared out his challenge. "Meet us in battle, Moltres, and allow us to show you our strength!"

The winds grew more powerful, although not nearly as powerful as those Ash had faced in Zapdos' storm. He felt the unease return, at least until Nidoking put one of his clawed hands upon his shoulder. Ash smiled, but lurched as the entire volcano seemed to shudder.

He held on tightly to Nidoking as the world shook. Great flames shot out of the chasm, an even stream that reached high into the heavens and baked the world around him. Ash gasped as the power that engulfed the mountain was magnified a hundred fold. He felt as though his body was going to collapse as the volcano came to life as its incarnation awoke from its age old slumber.

Ash's skin grew hot and dry as the power grew more and more powerful. The winds whistled and roared as though a storm were brewing, and the flames exploded out of the dormant volcano with more and more power.

The form of Moltres that was hewn from volcanic stone and dragged up Mt. Ember by the ancient inhabitants of Knot Island glowed a cherry red from the heat of the fires and the wings and head of the worn shrine suddenly burst into flame, the inferno that engulfed it fuelled by the stone itself.

Fear exploded throughout him as he saw the eyes of the façade, little more than holes hammered and chiseled out, glow a bright red. More power pulsed throughout the mountain as it rumbled, and Ash feared that it would explode long before Moltres answered their challenge.

He stole a look at Lance. The Champion's hair and cape billowed in perfect uniformity and his eyes were focused, but he could see the slightest bit of fear in them. Lance stood strong before the awakening of the Legend, but Ash knew that the Champion now realized just what he had awakened.

Ash staggered back as the world suddenly exploded. The constant streams of flames that erupted from the deep chasm of the volcano suddenly grew a thousand times more intense and penetrated all the way up to the clouds, so bright that it could serve as a second sun for the Sevii Islands.

The volcano suddenly screamed, but Ash's battered ears suddenly realized that it was not the stirrings of the volcano, it was the cry of the Legend they had been so arrogant as to challenge.

From the steady explosion of flames a shape became visible, slightly darker than the rest of the flames. Ash felt his heart skip a beat when the flames suddenly wrapped around the large shape in a perfect sphere of unnatural flame.

Even Lance was speechless as the flames exploded out up into the sky in a column of fire, pure white and far more intense than anything either human had ever seen. Ash had to cover his eyes until the Bird's entrance had been completed.

When he looked up again, he saw a great avian of flame before him. Its body was made of feathers that burned with golden flame, and the frame of its wings seemed to be made up of solid flame of the same gold, an impossibility in of itself. But its wings and the elaborate crest that billowed proudly behind it, dancing ever so slightly in the wind that announced the avian's coming, were of great natural flame, so bright that it made Ash want to look away.

It stood at more than twenty feet tall and dwarfed both Articuno and Zapdos. The Bird had bare legs made of solid, blackened lava that began to liquefy from its own heat. They ended in wickedly hot claws that seemed as though they could burn through stone as though it were butter.

Despite the sheer regality and power it exuded simply by existing, its most striking features were its eyes. They glowed with impossibly bright inner fire, a bright red to match its siblings' icy blue and gold. Its eyes regarded Ash and Lance impassively, no emotion discernable.

Moltres suddenly cried out again and the dormant volcano rumbled. Flame exploded from behind it, and the Bird of Fire flapped its wings once. A wave of fire erupted from the great Bird and melted the black stone it hit and reduced it to liquid in moments.

It regarded them for the briefest of moments and stared at Lance, who refused to look away. When it turned away to meet Ash's eyes, the trainer stared back into the pulsing, ageless red of the primordial avian's eyes and didn't back down.

He felt as though his very being was about to be incinerated, but still refused to look away. The Bird's energy suddenly pulsed throughout the mountain once more.

As columns of flame erupted from the chasm Moltres had slumbered in for countless years, it squawked once more and flew toward the humans and their teams in an explosion of fire amidst the ageless rumblings of the volcano.

Before the first stage of the battle began, Ash had to wonder if Lance finally realized what he had gotten himself into.

**And there it is! Sorry for the cliffhanger, but it's 3 AM where I am and the battle was planned for next chapter anyway. I'll get the next chapter out as fast as I can. **

**Again, I'd like to apologize for how long it took to get this chapter out. I didn't want to write while I was sick and I turned out to be much more busy than I'd expected. I'm really sorry to those of you who I assured that I would get this chapter out in a week. **

**Anyways, I hoped that you enjoyed the chapter! Make sure to review!**


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